HAVING A BABY DURING A PHD
When my husband and I started chatting about having kids, I was in the first year of my PhD. We went back and forth, trying to decide between having a baby during my PhD or waiting until I submitted my thesis. My PhD supervisors, who were all mothers, gave me great advice: there is no right time to have a baby when in research and to go with your life plan. Putting my PhD out of mind, we decided that it was the right time to start trying. I had my daughter at the end of my second year of my PhD and had a year of maternity leave in 2018 (3 months paid and 9 months unpaid, which is fairly normal in Australia). Having a baby during my PhD had its pros and cons. It brought time for my manuscripts to go through the peer-review process and get published while on leave. It was hard to come back, and when I did, I only had six months left to submit my thesis. My husband ended up taking his paternity leave in the last three months of my thesis so I could focus all my attention on getting it done. Having a baby definitely made the experience harder but ultimately more rewarding! The same options for maternity and paternity leave are not readily available to everyone, so make sure to be aware of the support you are entitled to and use them to your advantage. Tips to share from this experience:
TRAVELLING FOR RESEARCH (WITH A BABY) I was fortunate enough to receive a grant to collaborate in Germany while on maternity leave. As a PhD student, this was too good an opportunity to pass, so we decided to go, though we recognized the challenges ahead. I was then lucky enough to get a travel award to attend a conference in Scotland. Perfect! We would extend our trip and after Germany, do a bit of travel and then head to Scotland. But of course, things don't always go to plan. My husband got promoted. The role change meant he couldn't take two months off anymore. He still was able to take off a month for Germany, but what about Scotland? Since grants and awards don't come easily, we decided to go to Germany for a month, go back to Australia, and then after two weeks, I would head back to Scotland by myself to attend the conference. It was an insane plan that I can't believe we managed to pull off!
Tips to share from this experience:
SCOTLAND WITHOUT A BABY The trip to Scotland was much harder. The conference was a great experience, and I got to present my research. But being away from my daughter was incredibly difficult as it was the first time leaving her for an extended period of time. Tips to share from this experience:
COVID-19 AND A TODDLER (AND DEALING WITH THE TERRIBLE TWOs) I was a post-doc for seven months before COVID-19 struck. Our daughter turned two just before the craziness, and we are dealing with the 'terrible twos' while juggling working from home. I work in the morning while my husband looks after our daughter, and then we swap in the afternoon. Tips to share from this experience:
Here are two hard truths that I've come to (eventually) accept two and a half years of juggling parenthood and research that help me maintain my sanity:
While I was fortunate to have generous support during my PhD from my supervisors, family, and the university in terms of maternity leave, not everyone has the same support. Policies that help new parents in science will provide equal opportunity around the world. In particular, universities should provide paid-leave, well-appointed breastfeeding rooms, and flexible working hours to support new parents and nursing mothers. Parenting often coincides with when female researchers are climbing up the career ladder. A lack of support will leave researchers struggling at crucial phases of their scientific career. However, the positive message I leave you with is that while having a child and juggling research is challenging, it is not impossible. I'm amazed at what I've achieved so far, and I know many mothers who have successfully balanced parenthood and research life!
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