Some people try very hard to have a baby and plan around the possibility that they might get pregnant soon. For other moms, the baby can be a surprise, and it may be that you feel you need to rethink some of the things going on in your life in order to prioritize the new arrival.
One thing you may consider lowering the priority is any studying you are doing, but this might not be something you have to do.
Online Degrees
Many women these days are doing online degree courses, particularly if they want to get a post-grad degree that will help them further their careers while also working, for example, by doing an online masters in health administration, education, business, and all kinds of other good subjects. If you are well into your online MHA or MBA – or even just starting out on it – when you discover you are expecting a baby, you may wonder whether it might be a good idea to drop the course indefinitely, particularly if you are planning to stay at home with the baby rather than going to work in the early years. You may feel that things you were doing to help your career may no longer be that important, especially if you aren’t even sure you want to continue on your current career path once you’re a mom.
Take Advantage of the Flexibility
A lot of women do feel this way when they are expecting a surprise baby in the process of studying, but they may be forgetting that one of the main advantages of an online degree is the flexibility, and so as long as you don’t get into the mindset of having quit, you can take a break while you have the baby without it affecting how well you perform or causing your degree to take a huge amount longer to achieve. You may not want to have the pressure of turning in papers or worrying about exams in the exciting time in the run-up to giving birth, but once you have settled into a routine at home with your new baby, the activity of studying may well become appealing once again, and you can re-enter your course at your own pace.
It’s Still Worth Having That Degree!
You might be having a serious rethink about how you want to work while your child is young, but getting your degree is still well worth doing. In fact, studying while you are at home with your child can be the best time to lay the foundations for an exciting career once they are older. Depending on what you study, the knowledge you gain can also help you with other things you may want to do while you have young children. For instance, your MBA training may help you set up a part-time business working from home.
The right choices for you will, of course, depend on your circumstances, but for many women, giving up their studies because of a pregnancy can actually be a decision they regret, so think carefully about whether or not you can make it work if you carry on your degree.
