I got pregnant during the first month of internship. Why would I do such a durn fool thing? Well, I didn't do it on PURPOSE! It was a mistake! Yes, I know, I know, I was a doctor. Not to mention a grown woman. You'd think I'd have known by then how these things work, right? You'd think I'd know how to prevent this particular predicament, right?
Right. However. Sometimes life throws a curve. You see, I was "regular" as clockwork up until that month. 35 day cycles, on the nose. Years and years of them, without fail. We counted on them. Literally. We counted days and acted accordingly. (Hey, come on, nobody wants to use a condom ALL the time!) And it worked. Well, up until now.
Did you know that stress can mess with your menstrual cycle? No sh*t, Sherlock. I guess I must have had some stress or something. Let's see...finishing medical school, selling our house, moving to a new state, finding a new house, starting internship...gee. Wonder what I had to be stressed about? Go figure.
Once I realized that 36 days had gone by with no period, and then 38, and then 40, I got scared. I slunk into the clinic lab and confessed my sins to Chloe, the lab tech. I begged her to test my urine for me on the QT. The rabbit died. The "x" lit up blue. It was positive. Chloe, shaking her head, agreed not to broadcast the news, and I left in a daze to tell my husband.
He was excited. I was terrified. I was sure they'd kick me out of the program. Who ever heard of a pregnant intern? Who ever wanted a pregnant intern? They'd laugh in my face and send me packing, I was sure of it. Could I hide it? Should I try? Fake my way through in baggy scrubs until there was no denying it, and then at least I'd have a few months of training under my belt before I got the boot?
No. Honesty was best. I'd suck it up, tell all, and take the consequences. Shaking, I called to make an appointment with The Boss.
We showed up at his office early the next morning, my husband and I. Freshly showered, snappily dressed, and nervous as hell.
"So." The Boss smiled at us. "What's up? What's going on?"
Taking heart from his smile, I drew a deep breath and dropped the bomb. "I'm pregnant."
Here it comes, I thought. Walking papers. Pink slip. Sayonara, Spencer. I closed my eyes and waited.
"Well!" The tone of that "Well!" yanked my eyes open. He was beaming! "Congratulations!"
The wave of relief carried me on its crest all the way to D. day.
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www.millarai.blogspot.com
Ronald - Lo siento, pero no hablo espanol. Gracias por visitar aqui.
On the way home from Austin last week I had a pregnant flight attendant. She had less trouble getting around the cabin that the obese fellow I thought would never fit into the bathroom, but he did.
I'll be you have some good stories waiting to be told about patient reactions to Dr. Preg.
What were you thinking? ;)
If it's not amazing enough that you made it through your residency to become a doctor, you did it while preggo. My admiration grows by leaps and bounds.
And for a woman who doesn't speak Spanish, you write it incedibly well.
Lucky!
I waited until I was a second year to get pregnant... what was I thinking...
The bosses reaction?
"Of course, you'll have to make up any call you miss... you can schedule your vacation to match the delivery date, but if you're not back in a week, you better plan on repeating the year."
Lucky!
I waited until I was a second year to get pregnant... what was I thinking...
The bosses reaction?
"Of course, you'll have to make up any call you miss... you can schedule your vacation to match the delivery date, but if you're not back in a week, you better plan on repeating the year."
He was probably glad you weren't quitting on him. Some bosses are good like that. Others, just dinks. Glad you got a good one!
Virginia - Wait 'til you hear about me on my surgery rotation in my ninth month!
Heather - Some things you do because, well, you gotta. But thanks for your kind words.
Queen Lisa - Let me guess - you're not an FP doc. See, it would be rather hypocritical for a Family Medicine program NOT to support families, right? At least, that's how my place seemed to think. I'm sorry you had to deal with such an a$%hole.
Doc NOS - The other residents? Well, turns out two more of them got pregnant that year too! By then, the faculty smiles were a bit strained and the residents were all joking that there was something in the water.
Steve - I'm sure he was glad I wasn't quitting. 'Specially when I worked up until and including "D day". But the real reason he was so nice is that he's a truly nice person, and he really did feel happy and supportive. I was one lucky dumb bunny!
Peg
Congratulations and best of luck!
Thank you, barbados butterfly. It all went well. These are memories. That little "boo boo" is 17 years old now! Some life events are locked solid in the ol' neurons.
You have no idea how comforting your story is. I just started internship, in family medicine no less, and a few days ago figured out that I am (suprise!) pregnant... totally accidental, also related to stress and mistaken timing. After a few days, I have gotten used to the idea and the horror is being replaced by excitement. I came across your old post while trying to figure out how to tell my program director (I am going to wait until after my first ob visit). Knowing someone else has gone through it is very reassuring. Thanks for sharing.
anonymous - I am SO glad you found comfort in my story! There is no good time to have a kid in residency, so I'm glad in retrospect that it happened. That baby is a 19 year old lovely young woman now...the best "mistake" I've ever made! Good luck to you. Feel free to post or email if you want to "talk."
Peg
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