Obviously I’m not the travel nurse in our specific situation, my husband is, so this is from the perspective of the partner of a travel nurse. I’d imagine most women navigating pregnancy while travel nursing are travel nurses themselves, as most travel nurses are women. Our situation is a bit unique. That said, there are some aspects of my experience that would apply either way so I thought I’d share a bit about this semi-chaotic start to my journey into motherhood.

when we found out I was a bit panicked

Dan and I had just arrived in Charlotte for him to begin his travel nurse assignment here when we found out that I was pregnant. And by just I mean it was the day after we arrived. We weren’t expecting the news so while we were completely overjoyed it also sent us into a bit of a tailspin. We honestly hadn’t considered much what our plan would be if this happened in terms of would we continue travel nursing or not.

So we quickly got into planning mode and started considering our options of where to live, where Dan could work, where I would get prenatal care, etc. It was incredibly overwhelming, but thankfully the sickness of the first trimester hadn’t hit me yet and we had a couple friends who were so helpful and supportive. Travel nursing is a somewhat unstable lifestyle which can make the news of a pregnancy a bit intimidating. Don’t feel bad if you’re overwhelmed or less excited than maybe you thought you’d be, it’s a lot to process when you have a stable job and living situation, let alone when you don’t!

consider telling some close family and friends “early”

While we did tell some friends pretty much right away, we weren’t sure we should share the news more broadly that early on in my pregnancy. Since then, we both feel strongly that the whole “wait until the end of the first trimester” rule is overrated, but at that point we wanted to wait. Ultimately, we decided to tell our family when I was around 8 weeks pregnant and I’m so glad that we did.

Once the sickness of the first trimester hit me, and it hit hard, I had a really hard time with feeling isolated and overwhelmed. We still didn’t know where we wanted to live and the weight of all the decisions we had to make was so heavy while I struggled just to eat and was so incredibly fatigued. Looking back, I wish we had told our family sooner so we could have had some more support during that time. Thankfully we had some good friends praying for us and checking in, along with some people from our church in Charlotte.

When you’re in a new place and going through a major life transition, plus feeling very sick, it’s important to have people to lean on. We had each other of course, but travel nursing can be isolating and even more so when you’re keeping such a big secret from family, friends, and those around you. It can be a difficult and personal decision to make, when you want to share the news of your pregnancy, but my best advice would be to consider bucking the “rule” and telling people early if you’re in a situation like ours.

don’t be afraid to lean on others for support

Once we did start telling people, it was so helpful to be able to talk with friends with kids and then family too. I had (and have) SO many questions about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and the list just goes on and on. Unfortunately, while the internet is incredibly helpful and empowering, it’s also a black hole of endless differing opinions and some intense fear-mongering when it comes to pregnancy.

It can be so encouraging and helpful to have women you trust share about their experiences and opinions when you’re just starting out learning about these things. Even if you’ve learned about all of these topics in the past, it’s a whole different ball game when you actually have to start making decisions for yourself and your baby. Don’t be afraid to lean on friends and family for support while you’re learning, feeling sick, or making all of the decisions that come along with pregnancy. Chances are they’ll be more than happy to listen, offer their own wisdom and encouragement, and help in any way they can.

advocate for yourself when it comes to prenatal care

One of the decisions that stressed me out the most was finding prenatal care. I stalled for a while because I wanted to make the decision of where I would be giving birth first, but that was honestly an unnecessary added pressure I put on myself. My ideal birthing situation was to find a birth center where I could give birth under the care of a midwife, but I soon found out that North Carolina has extensive restrictions on midwives and birth centers are pretty non-existent in Charlotte.

Do your research to find out what kind of care you want and advocate to get it wherever you are. Whether you’ll be giving birth where you’re currently on assignment, or will be there for just part of your pregnancy, find somewhere you feel comfortable going to for prenatal care. It’s important to make some kind of plan of where you will be when it comes time to give birth so you can ensure you’ll have care that you’re comfortable with there as well.

Ultimately, I ended up deciding to see an OBGYN in the same hospital network in Charlotte where Dan works. After we made the decision to move back to New Hampshire, where our family is, I had to make the decision of whose care I wanted to be under there as well. It was surprisingly difficult to get accepted as a patient at a hospital in New Hampshire before we officially moved. After multiple phone calls and sending all of my records, I was able to get accepted as a patient where I wanted to transfer my care to. I had to advocate for myself and be persistent, but ultimately I was the last patient they accepted for December births. Don’t be afraid to be a little pushy!

don’t be afraid to change prenatal care

Chances are you will have to go through at least one change in prenatal care if you’re pregnant as a travel nurse (or the wife of a travel nurse). This intimidated me and it is certainly extra work, but it’s not the end of the world. The most important thing is to avoid a lapse in care and ideally in coverage/insurance as well. Whether you see a midwife or a doctor, do all the routine checkups or don’t, it’s important to have someone who knows you and your pregnancy ready to help in case of emergency. It’s also just nice to have a healthcare professional to call if you’re concerned about something or have a question you don’t want to rely on the internet to answer.

Ultimately, making the final decision of where we would settle in for the birth of our baby was the decision that brought us the most peace. I would recommend prioritizing that above the other decisions just for your own peace of mind. It’s an important piece of the puzzle to figure out and once you do, you’ll probably feel a lot better even if it involves a future move and change of care.

don’t forget to enjoy this time and celebrate

It can be difficult to enjoy much while you’re feeling so sick you don’t want to eat anything or get out of bed, but take advantage of the days when you feel better. Don’t forget to check in with your partner and discuss the fun things as well as the challenging decisions to be made. Take some days off of planning and decision making to just be excited, check in with each other, and celebrate.