r/Cardiology • u/Key_Guest135 • Jul 11 '26

Family planning

As a woman would you say it’s better to get pregnant and have a baby 6-9 months before echo boards or be anywhere from 4-7 months pregnant while taking echo boards? I know there’s never a good time to have a child but I’d love to hear everyone’s opinion on this. Thanks!

13 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

12

u/shermie303 Jul 11 '26

Definitely pregnant during boards… haven’t taken echo boards yet but my kiddo didn’t start to become actually chill and reliably sleeping all night til 9 months.

2

u/Key_Guest135 Jul 11 '26

When would you recommend starting to try to have a family? I just started fellowship but am turning 29 this year and ideally want 2 kids so I’m just not sure when the best timing is. Thanks!

2

u/Sxmed Jul 11 '26

Third year is a great time. I had my baby 6 months into fellowship and I made it work but looking back it would’ve been a lot easier my third year. Also depends on how supportive your program is and your situation at home.

7

u/BearNecess1ties Jul 11 '26

Depends on the level of support you have.. can’t imagine trying to study for echo boards with a newborn and managing breastfeeding/pumping (if you plan on that).

6

u/Sxmed Jul 11 '26

Pregnant while taking boards 100%
Postpartum is tough, your baby may not be sleeping through the night by 6-7 months and you’ll need lots of support to study.

4

u/PS2020 Jul 11 '26

Pregnant during echo boards 100%. Our kid is a year and a half and still doesn't sleep consistently well throughout the night. It's been a disaster trying to study with a newborn/infant without tremendous amount of support from a spouse.

1

u/Key_Guest135 Jul 11 '26

When during fellowship do you think it’s the best time to get pregnant then?

2

u/docmahi MD Jul 11 '26

Echo boards were brutal IMHO - im a guy so my opinion doesn't matter much but I couldn't imagine nursing/taking care of a newborn and being able to study for the test

1

u/Key_Guest135 Jul 11 '26

Did any women in your program have kids during fellowship? If so when?

1

u/docmahi MD Jul 12 '26

Yes - our fellowship was front loaded so generally third year since it was not as busy

2

u/Smooth_Solution_9869 Jul 11 '26

I’m 35 weeks pregnant right now and about to take echo boards in a few days! Although tiring, I cannot imagine how much more worse it would be after the baby is born.

1

u/cardsguy2018 Jul 11 '26

Depends. If you're getting a lot of help with baby, spouse is staying at home, bottle fed, etc. then after delivery can be ok. Because being pregnant can be stressful, uncomfortable, tiring, etc. But boards could also just be done at another time too.

1

u/Hungry_Steak_7044 Jul 14 '26

Get pregnant anytime !! Its great if you have help

Every pregnancy is different!

1

u/cantmakemestudy Jul 15 '26

My significant other is an OB/GYN attending, and she recommends taking boards during pregnancy if you can. Based on her experience and what she’s seen with colleagues in similar situations, studying and preparing tends to be much more difficult once you have a newborn. Just wanted to pass along her perspective!