Pregnancy and BTEA (university course)

bloodymary23

Hi,

I will start the second year of my degree course next September. Me and my partner are thinking of having our second child, while I am studying. But before going ahead, I want to make sure that I will be able to complete my studies, so it must be a carefully planned pregnancy and I need to know in advance what my options are.
My plan would be to have the child (birth) during next summer, let's say end of June/July.
The ideal thing for me would be then to stay at home for one year after having the child and then start back my final year one year later. I know from my experience how hard it is to study with a child who doesn't' sleep trough the night, therefore I would not be able to study when the baby is less than a year old... and given that my final year is the one that counts for the final mark I want to do well.
So, my main question is:
Are you allowed to stay at home one year due to the fact that you just had a baby (so only AFTER and not during pregnancy)while you are on BTEA? I mean, would I receive the payment for the year that I am at home or would I need to apply for FIS? And if the BTEA is stopped for one year, will they restart the payment the following year when I am going back to college?
BTEA would be absolutely essential, given our situation, primarily for the costs of childcare.
I have read the welfare policies in the case where one fails exams due to exceptional circumstances, including pregnancy and I am aware that they would pay the BTEA for another year in those cases, but my question is whether they pay it if you just postpone one year (without failing exams, if you are not even enrolled for the year)
Did anyone have similar experiences?
Maybe you would be able to tell me how the college dealt with your pregnancy... did they allow you to take one year off without issues?
That would be ideal for me,as in that case I would not have to pay the fees in the year I am repeating.
Sorry for the length of the post, just wanted to explain situation clearly.
Thanks!

toc2012

My best friend had her daughter at the end of June 2011, she had just finished 2nd year in AIT, she went straight back in Sept as a lone parent and is about to undertake her final year, she said it was hard to go back but if she took a break she wouldn't have gone back,
I'm not saying you would be the same, I am simply just passing on the experience she has had.

paperclip2

Hi OP,

To be honest I cant see DSP letting you remain on BTEA while you are on a deferred year. They would probably want you to go onto the payment you were on prior to BTEA and then reapply for it when you return to college. But really I'm only speculating. Maybe you contact Citizens Information to see if they could shed any light on it.

bloodymary23

Thanks for replying.
I am pretty sure that I would not want to attend my final year with a child born a few months before, as I've just completed my first year with a child that was just 1 y.o and it was hard enough... manageble but hard enough, so I can only imagine how hard it would be to do my final year shortly after giving birth. Moreover, there are also considerations about the cost of childcare, as I do not have any family here that could help when the child is too young to be accepted in a creche...
I don't know, it's pretty complicated. On one hand it would be better to wait the end of the course and have a child before doing my master degree... on the other, now would be the right moment. Not sure what I should do..

Annasopra

If you lose the option of BTEA plus grant them finance wise it makes much better sense to wait until you finish the course.

Muir

mango salsa wrote: »

If you lose the option of BTEA plus grant them finance wise it makes much better sense to wait until you finish the course.

Have to agree with this. Not only financially but I don't think having a second child before going into the final year of your course is a good idea. I think it would be very difficult to do the best that you can in your course if you have another child because children are a full time job in themselves. You know how hard it is to study with one child, and your final year can be quite demanding. Waiting an extra year to have a child shouldn't make too much of an impact on your plans for a family, but might make a huge difference to your finances and ability to do your best in your course.