Oz: I hope you don't quit and I am sure you were the best candidate. My comments are only aimed at people who plan to get pregnant during their education, not at committed people for whom things haven't quite gone to plan.

Ras: a lectureship is generally funded by the university who will be happy for you to take time out. A PhD is (usually) funded by an external body who will expect the results to be in within 4 years, and if they are not, will then often refuse to give the university any further funding. This is not speculation: it happens all the time.

This is why I think it is different in the case of PhDs. And, as I just said, a PhD is still your training period; probably the most diffcult time of your academic career. It's really not the best time to be deliberately getting pregnant.

Hi Shani,

My point is only this: that you should (preferably) wait till after your PhD. Then of course it's up to you, and of course many women are both academics and parents. It's just a matter of timing. I think for many reasons it is silly to get pregnant in the middle of your education.

A while ago there was a discusion on this forum about interviewing male vs female candidates for an academic post, and I was shocked to hear a number of forum members say that they would choose a male over a female candidate, if they were both equally qualified. The reasons given were that the female would be more likely to take time out to have a baby. It is women who do just that, who make it more difficult for the rest of us to compete against men for PhD positions.

And on a slightly different note: you could always adopt if you feel that you may be getting past the best age to become pregnant. There are hundreds of kids in drab care homes desperate for a good family.

See your point about the temporary contracts: they do make life difficult. But I totally disagree about your last statement: it is not just you and your partner that are affected if you decide to have a baby in the middle of a PhD. You don't live on a desert island: your actions will inevitably affect the society that you live in and the people around you. I still think that it is selfish to not wait three years till the end of your PhD. If you really can't live without having a baby, then stand aside and let someone else have the opportunity.

I am still referring to planned pregnancies here, by the way: of course an accidental pregnancy is a different kettle of fish altogether.

"I would not tell your supervisor that it was planned. Start your PhD, get your experiments up and running and after the lab work (which you might not be allowed to do when you are pregnant).".

I might have got the wrong end of the stick here, so apologies in advance if I have, but Oz, what you seem to be suggesting looks pretty irresponsible to me. A PhD is not like a job: in a job you may be working there for 10+ years, and so you may as well take time out at your convenience to have a baby. But a PhD is a short term contract where a lot of people are depending on you to complete within a certain time. I think if you deliberatly get pregnant during a PhD you have let down your supervisor, your sponsor, and the other applicants who were rejected in favour of you.

I'm supposed to be doing something...but can't be arsed

Oh, here you are

Where's the dead zone? (been up to my neck in admin lately)...

I don't intend to comment on anyone's personal situation...but I must say if I took someone on for a 3 year PhD and then they announced they were taking time out to have a baby, I would not be too happy (unless it was a genuine accident).

Three years is not a long time to wait, surely?

Better than sending it off with a big steaming mistake in there (speaking from experience)

Bit harsh, Leigh: I understood him perfectly well. If you didn't then it must be your English that is poor.

Found this on a website:

"If you are using MS outlook, you can recall an email message.
Next time you do such boo boos, go to your sent items immediately and double click on the message. Now go to ACTIONS - Recall This Message.

I have never used this feature before so I'm not sure what exactly happens. But I heard that this won't work if the other party has already downloaded the message from their email server.

Also, a notification goes to the recipient saying the email sent by you has been recalled. So you still owe the recipient an explanation ;) "

Good luck. If you are not in Outlook, then you can probably apologise sincerely to him. Most people understand that even your best friend sometimes gets frustrated with you. How does the saying go? "If you knew what your friends sometimes said about you, you wouldn't have any friends".

Ooooooh...no. But come close once; nearly sent an email bemoaning the general uselessness of the compnay secretary to the whole department.

If it was sent in Outlook then I have heard that you can fish it back out of their inbox (assuming he hasn't opened it yet).