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pregnancy and having a baby at university

Hey! I wanted to ask for your opinion regarding getting pregnant and having a child while studying at university, is it difficult to cope with everything? Do you have similar experiences?
For a bit of context, I'm 27 years old and me and my partner have been in a relationship for a few years now and recently we've started to wonder about having a child, we both have always wanted to have a big family

But due to personal reasons, I couldn't go to uni earlier and I am now only in the second year of university (my degree lasts 4 years). Would it be a good idea to try for a baby now (or in the near future) and if so, when would be the best time to do this, hopefully without taking a break from uni (or taking only a short one), because I have already waited a long time for uni and would like to graduate as soon as possible? Or should we wait until I graduate from uni (which we're not really happy about...)? How hard would it be to cope with uni while pregnant and then raising the baby?
Thank you for help!

Reply 1

username4144852

I haven’t been pregnant at uni, but I have done a degree and later had three children, so I know how demanding each is and I wouldn’t have wanted to do them at the same time. Having a baby really takes over your life, and it’s hard to focus on anything else for a good year or two! You could get bad pregnancy sickness and be unable to function for months, and once the baby is here it usually takes a good year until they’re sleeping through the night and you’re not operating in a sleep deprived fog! Babies are also a big stress on relationships because you’re both grouchy, tired, poor, and have a sudden lack of freedom and no free time.
Having said that, having children is wonderful and I’m glad I have them, of course. But I would not combine it with taking a degree.
Depends on what you’re studying and how demanding it is really. My first degree was in nursing which invoked 12 hour shifts when on placement, you can’t leave a baby that long especially if breast feeding. You have to think about childcare, who will look after baby or toddler when you study. My youngest is 1.5 and I’m studying another course at the moment and I can’t get a single thing done with him around! All my studying has to be done when he is napping or in bed. So I have no leisure time.

27 is still young, it’s absolutely fine to wait til 30 to have a baby, most people I know had their first baby around then.

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

You are entering the serious time of your uni degree - years 3 and 4. Believe me, you will not enjoy being pregnant, having your first child and also studying. Women can have children well into their thirties so my advice, focus on your studies for the next few years and then try for a family as soon as you graduate.

Having a child is a wonderful experience but its really time consuming and physically tiring so delay if you can.