The perils of juggling motherhood and academic work

‘When Patty Ramirez became pregnant during her PhD she assumed she could ‘have it all’. The reality was far more stressful.’ See the full article by Patty Ramirez published in the Times Higher today (4th June 2015). https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/content/the-perils-of-juggling-motherhood-and-study

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‘I was euphoric when, two weeks after starting my PhD, I found out I was pregnant. Having been brought up with the feminist conviction that I could “have it all”, and having reassured myself that maternity leave and childcare funding would be available to me, I felt sure I could successfully juggle childcare and doctoral study.

On a bleak January day five years later, as I numbly handed in my thesis, I reflected on how wrong I had been. In reality, the cost of childcare brought my family to its financial knees – and the stress that it imposed on my marriage, my parenting and my mental health has led me to quit academia for good.’

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