Hi all,
I'm in the final year of my PhD in the UK in EEE and 4 months pregnant. This whole year has been a bit of a mess with very limited access to the lab, disrupted supply chains etc... I'm sure lots of you have experienced the same. My results are far from what I'd hoped to achieve but I'd like to wrap up before my baby is born and move on with my life. My due date falls outside of my funded period and I'm therefore not entitled to maternity pay from the uni or maternity allowance from the government. I won't be able to apply for a postdoc when my funding ends in April as I'll be 7 months and then probably won't feel ready to start working until 6 months post-partum... I guess I'd just love to know there are others out there in a similar situation, who fall into this weird category of being entitled to nothing though we've been working full-time for 4 years. Writing up is stressful enough and it would be so nice to chat to someone going through the same thing. And if you are, congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck with the writing!