{"id":1682,"date":"2008-04-08T12:56:06","date_gmt":"2008-04-08T17:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/?p=1682"},"modified":"2025-03-01T02:35:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T08:35:36","slug":"mailbag-babies-in-medical-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2008\/04\/08\/mailbag-babies-in-medical-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Mailbag: Babies in Medical School?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been using Mondays to clean out my mailbag (although I’m a day late this week). The topic under discussion? Whether having babies in medical school is a smart idea or not. Read on for my perspective on the subject. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Monday<\/p>\n

Question: How hard is having babies in medical school?<\/h2>\n

Hello Flanders Family!<\/p>\n

I would love to seek your wisdom on a particular subject. My husband is a first-year medical student, and we are considering having children while he is in medical school. We would deeply value any advice you have time to share.<\/p>\n

Thanks and love,
\nA Sister in Christ<\/p>\n

\"Babies<\/p>\n

Answer: Our advice? Go for it!<\/h2>\n

Dear Sister,<\/p>\n

We’re happy to share our perspective on having babies during medical school: We had three while Doug was in school, two more during residency, then another six (so far) once he began his practice.<\/p>\n

Was it ever a struggle? Yes, at times \u2014 especially financially, since Doug was committed to my staying home with the children, and having them early meant taking out bigger loans while he was in school.<\/p>\n

Would we do it all over again? Absolutely! We are profoundly grateful that God overruled our half-hearted attempt to use natural family planning to postpone pregnancy until after Doug completed his training (a plan which was quickly abandoned when I got pregnant two weeks into our honeymoon).<\/p>\n

You see, the problem with waiting for “the perfect time” to have a baby is that it becomes easier and easier to find reasons to postpone (we’ll just wait until I graduate\/ finish residency\/ get established\/ build a house) \u2014 and harder and harder to conceive once “the perfect time” arrives.<\/p>\n

That’s because a woman has just a small window of fertile years \u2014 a window which begins to close in her twenties. By thirty, she has only a 20% chance of getting pregnant each month. By forty, those odds drop to 5%.<\/p>\n

Benefits to starting early<\/h2>\n

But there are other benefits to having babies<\/a> while you’re young….<\/p>\n