Pregnant during the bar Forum

mylegalname · Post by **mylegalname** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 12:38 am

Has anyone out there been pregnant during studying and taking the bar? Is it manageable or am I just crazy? Personal experience advice would be great!

DELG · Post by **DELG** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 12:40 am

Combining the two worst parts of life, yikes. At least you'll get it all over at once?

seashellstandard · Post by **seashellstandard** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 12:48 am

IF your pregnancy is totally normal, then I think that this is your best opportunity to study for and take the bar, compared to taking it later when you have a baby to take care of.

My pregnancy was normal (besides being two-weeks past the due date), and that was a pretty uneventful time compared to actually becoming a parent. My child is now 13 years old, and I still have a hard time finding time to study! Get the bar out of the way before your baby arrives, because once the baby arrives things will be busier than anything has ever been in your life. Good luck, and congrats : )

despina · Post by **despina** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 7:07 pm

A couple of my friends just did it! I considered it and decided against.

It's definitely do-able, and if that's going to be the best time for you, then do what you need to do.

Here's why I decided against it. Even a young, healthy woman can have a pregnancy go wrong in ways that will significantly affect your studying, anything from moderate but constant discomfort (morning sickness, back pain, sleep problems etc) to debilitating (I knew somebody who was basically bedridden 24-7 starting about 13 weeks in) to devastating (miscarriage or having to terminate). And of course if the bar is at 25 weeks or more, you might go into premature labor which is always fun. There's no "good" time in your life to risk all of this crap, but at least school and work stuff can be flexible. The bar is pass-fail and on a fixed date, so why risk it? A colleague can take over your trial, you can get extensions on exams, but the bar won't budge and nobody can help you with it.

mylegalname · Post by **mylegalname** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:02 pm

Thanks everyone for the advice. Months later and I'm still debating the issue. Being an older law student (nearing 30!) my husband and I have children and a family on our minds. I do worry about potential abnormalities during pregnancy, but here was our thought process. I'm planning on taking the Feb. bar my 3L year in either NY or AZ and taking the July bar in case I either don't pass OR want to get barred in another state. Based on what we have been told (correct me if your experience has been different), I likely wouldn't start my job until October (after July bar results come out) bc most employers don't hire until you've past the bar. So, we would plan on having the baby in August/September in order for me to have a month+ with the baby.

We would plan on waiting, but we also fear that we won't be able to find "time" to have a baby with my busy schedule and we wouldn't want to tell my employer 6 months in "oh, hey btw I'm pregnant!" Thoughts?

Has anyone had experience interviewing while pregnant? I know employers aren't supposed to consider that, but obviously they do. Any issues with hiring while pregnant?

Let me know and thanks ahead of time!

zot1 · Post by **zot1** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 12:16 am

I know three women who studied for and took the California bar pregnant. They all passed. On of them was in her 40s. They're not super women. I'm sure it's doable if you have the support and put in the time.

Good luck!

mylegalname · Post by **mylegalname** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 3:23 pm

Good to know! Does anyone have experience interviewing while pregnant? Do you think it impacted your ability to get a job?

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