2nd year student. first pregnancy where to start.

[scaredcat]

Not been feeling great recently. did a pregancy test and it was positive. going to try and book in with doctors but have no idea what else i need to do. Me and my partner want to keep it as had planned on trying to start a family before i got accepted to uni and then decided to wait till i graduated. I think we are both in shock. I've got so many questions including if i get any funding towards maternity as only work 1 shift a week on top of uni to top up my nhs bursary.

Just unsure where to start or what to do next.

any advise appreciated thanks.

[Kate91]

Ok hun first off go see your doctor and book in to see a midwife, then what i would do is go see citizens advice as they can tell you where you stand for things like maternity and things, then you also need to speak to your tutor, as depending on what your studying there may be precautions that need to be considered.

[scaredcat in reply to Kate91]

Hey thanks Kate91. have been to see the doctor and have phoned the midwife and left a message. still need to speak to the uni but going to do that when i go in later in the week.

excited and terrified. possibly still a bit shocked. Just trying to learn what happens next.

[BecciBoo]

I'm in my third year and will sit my exams at 35 weeks.

I spoke to citizens advice when I first found out; unfortunately whilst classed as a full time student we aren't entitled to anything, because of getting a full student loan, grant and tuition fees paid for. You may be able to get the maternity grant if you have worked over a certain amount of hours in the last 12 months. I hadn't. I actually get nothing until after a stop been a student, an I don't get any help from student finance and I had to pay my full £27,000 tuition fee out of my own pocket

You do need to speak to your tutor though; I spoke to my personal tutor straight away as my course involved lab work and field trips which could have put me and the baby at risk. They will also be more understanding towards time off, maternity appointments, sickness. I've also had a few extensions on work due in as I've been quite ill at times. As I got further along in my pregnancy I found sitting in lectures more uncomfortable too but lecturers are quite understanding if I need to leave.

[emmab178]

Speak to your students union. The uni should have a maternity policy. Also if you are doing any practical work (ie labs) they need to do a risk assessment

[hannabelle in reply to emmab178]

shes a student.

[Seb9 in reply to hannabelle]

It's a two year old post, so you may not get a reply.

[scaredcat]

thanks for the comments. spoken with my tutor at uni and i should be able to get maternity leave including my bursary paid for up to 12 months when i need it.

still trying to get my head around everything.

any advice on what i should be concentrating on at this stage? such as food exercise, anything?

thanks

[Shem008 in reply to scaredcat]

Congratulations! It’s good that you will still get your bursary. In terms of food and exercise, the nhs website is really good. I have been referring to the foods to avoid in pregnancy list. The basic advice is to make sure you have a balanced diet and ensure you get lots of folic acid particularly in the first trimester. Take folic acid and vitamin d supplements - I personally use the pregnacare vitamins which have loads of stuff in them. Exercise - you are fine to carry on with whatever exercise you normally do at the moment and it’s good to try to stay fit as it will help during labour. As you get past 12 weeks you may need to change things slightly depending on what you already do - running for instance is fine if you already do it and can be done until you start to feel uncomfortable (some friends managed to about 20-22 weeks). The general rule is to not get exhausted - you should still be able to hold a conversation whilst exercising. You’d probably have to give up any plyometric exercise (I did the insanity workouts previously and had to give them up as there’s too much twisting). It’s advisable not to do exercises with a risk of falling eg horse riding, climbing. Swimming and pregnancy yoga are great exercises to do regardless of whether you’ve done them before. If you’re not sure about another type of exercise speak to your GP or Midwife before taking it up or continuing with it. In terms of other things, at this stage of pregnancy you may start to feel really tired and you may end up with morning sickness - take it easy, don’t feel bad if you can’t manage to do things and do your best to drink lots of water and eat what you can if you do end up being sick. Good luck! X

[hannabelle]

you will get through it just talk to your mate and mother at the same time