Getting Pregnant as a Post-doctoral Scholar at the
University of Chicago
**PLEASE NOTE: This blog was written by a postdoc scholar in the PSD at University of Chicago. Health care insurance laws and University policies may have changed since this person's experiences. Please be sure to do your own research in contacting your health insurance company and your department as this may not reflect current BSD policy.**
Congratulations!
Whether you were actively trying to have a baby or were happily surprised,
finding out you are pregnant is only the first step in the process.
a. Look up doctors that are covered by your insurance plan and seek personal
recommendations. Offices will often charge a fee to transfer your files so it
is better not to switch too many times during your pregnancy.
b.
When you call to make this appointment they want
to know if you have already taken and had a positive pregnancy test, be
prepared to give first day of last menstrual period, and insurance information.
The appointment is generally booked for when you are 8-12 weeks pregnant. It is still a
good idea to schedule this appointment far in advance since the first
appointment will be quite long and is sometimes challenging for a clinic to
schedule.
2 2.
(~6-10
weeks) Call your insurance company to find out about your benefits.
a. Some
insurance plans with BlueCrossBlueShield of Illinois want you to enroll in a
program called “Special Beginnings” during the first trimester. As of April
2013 BCBSIL PPO plans through Garnett Powers did not require this, but it is always
good to call and find out.
b. It
is very useful to go over what is covered vs. not especially with regards to
additional pre-natal testing that the doctor might recommend, but insurance
won’t cover (blood testing for genetic disorders is one potential example of
this).
c. Once
you are given a due date at your first appointment you will need to call the
insurance company again to pre-certify your hospital stay for delivery. This
doesn’t have to be right away but will need to be done before the 3rd
trimester to avoid additional fees.
d. A note about co-pays and deductibles:
You should ask your insurance provider for what appointment they charge
co-pays. On the BCBSIL PPO plans through Garnett Powers in 2013 co-pays are $15
for every appointment you go to. However, while your very first pre-natal
appointment will require a co-pay, under this plan all other pre-natal
appointments do not have a
co-pay—this is great news since you’ll be going to the doctor a lot! If you end up
having to see a specialist besides your obstetrician you will have co-pays for
that doctor (even for treatment of pregnancy conditions). Deductible
-- The first doctor’s appointment will meet the majority, if not
all of your deductible for the year. Don’t be surprised though if it takes a
couple of appointments to fully use it up.
3 3.
(~8-12
weeks) First doctor’s appointment
a. You’ll
need to bring your insurance information to this appointment and be prepared to
fill out medical history forms.
b. The
first prenatal appointment is quite long (1½ -2 hours) and may include an
initial ultrasound to confirm location of pregnancy and number of babies expected,
detailed medical history with doctor, giving a urine sample, Pap smear, and
blood work.
c. Doctor’s
appointments will be scheduled every month until week 32 when they switch to
every 2 weeks. At 36 weeks doctors appointments will be weekly until delivery. If
at all possible schedule these appointments as far in advance as possible so
you can get the best fit in your schedule.
4 4.
(~12-14
weeks) Inform your PI that you are pregnant and give them the expected due
date.
a. It
is a very personal decision when to share news about pregnancy, but it is quite
reasonable to wait until at least 14 weeks, which is generally considered to be
the end of the first trimester and the time when risk of miscarriage drops.
b. There
are some benefits to telling your PI sooner rather than later since you will
have to schedule numerous doctor’s appointments during working hours and some
pregnancy complications (like extreme nausea, etc) may require significant time
off during the first trimester.
c. No
matter when you decide to share the news, your PI should hear it first hand
from you and before you become visibly pregnant (this varies quite a bit).
5 5.
Learn
about your benefits.
a.
The new Postdoc Policy Manual (May 2012
edition) is somewhat less helpful than the previous version as a
resource for the specifics of your benefits, as it only mentions the FMLA policy.
As a post-doctoral scholar (fellows
are different**) you are a benefits eligible employee of the University, and as
such you are
eligible for short-term disability*.
“Childbearing,
Parental, and Family and Medical Leave
Postdoctoral Scholars may become eligible for childbearing leave,
parental leave, and for family and medical leave. See Personnel Policy
U522. Postdoctoral
Scholars who have been Postdoctoral Researchers for 12 continuous months but
who are ineligible for FMLA because they were Postdoctoral Fellows during any
part of the 12 months before the date on which the requested leave is to begin,
may request up to 12 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of the
employee’s child. Childbearing, parental, and family and medical leave policies
for Postdoctoral Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows – Paid Direct are subject to
the requirements or limitations of the extramural funding agency.” https://facultyhandbook.uchicago.edu/sites/facultyhandbook.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/postdoctoral_researcher_policy_manual.pdf
* An appointment
is made in the title “Postdoctoral Scholar” when (1) the agency funding the
salary requires or permits the appointee to be a University employee, or (2)
whenever University discretionary funds are used to support the position. In
their capacity as Postdoctoral Researchers, Postdoctoral Scholars are University employees. https://facultyhandbook.uchicago.edu/sites/facultyhandbook.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/postdoctoral_researcher_policy_manual.pdf
“A benefits eligible employee, who has completed six months of continuous
and active employment, is eligible to apply for Short Term Disability
(STD) when he or she is unable to perform the duties of his or her job due to a
non-work-related injury or illness (including a pregnancy-related disability).”
http://humanresources.uchicago.edu/fpg/policies/500/p513.shtml
**Postdoctoral Fellows are not eligible for STD leave because they
are not employees of the University, and the leave terms are stipulated by the
fellowship funding agency.
b.
The Family Medical Leave (FMLA) Act guarantees
you get 12 weeks of unpaid leave after the birth of a child and you can come back
to your job.
“The University will grant eligible employees leave under the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for up to 12 work weeks during any rolling
12-month period. An employee who has been employed at the University for at
least 12 months and has worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period
preceding the leave is eligible for FMLA leave.” http://humanresources.uchicago.edu/fpg/policies/500/p522.shtml
c. Maternity leave for post-docs is lumped under
short-term disability leave, and the quick summary is that if you are a
post-doctoral scholar you get full pay for 2 weeks (using up your sick leave… this is not
optional) and 60 % pay for the remainder of your FMLA leave.
“STD pays 60% of an employee’s
regular salary minus all regular deductions. STD payments begin once an
employee is totally disabled for a continuous period of fourteen (14) days or
an employee’s accrued sick leave is exhausted, whichever is longer. STD ends
after 13 weeks of disability.” http://humanresources.uchicago.edu/fpg/policies/500/p513.shtml
d. STD
forms and FMLA forms both have sections that require your healthcare provider
to fill out and sign. Many offices charge a flat fee to fill out any paperwork.
At my office it was $30 per document and it can take up to 2 weeks to get the
paperwork back (so give it to them early!).
e. Obviously taking time off after childbirth is a
very personal decision, and it can be quite challenging to plan for being gone for almost
3 months (max FMLA leave) during the limited time that you are a post-doc. Yearly contract
renewals and the flexibility of your PI are always going to be factors a
post-doc must consider. By the nature of the position, sick time, vacation, and
leave arrangements tend to be coordinated through each individual PI as opposed
to staff who document their time online. Whatever your plans may be, you
should at least know that according to official University policy you can take up to 12 weeks of maternity
leave,
and that at
least 10 of those weeks can be paid at 60 % of your base salary through STD
benefits.
6 6.
(~14-20
weeks) Look into childcare arrangements
a. If
you have not already, consider your plans for when you return from maternity
leave. Some daycares require that you already have a child before you can get
on their wait lists and others can be booked even before your child is born.
b. In
large cities is it recommended you make arrangements 6 months before you need
it so it is worth doing some preliminary research now.
7 7.
(~20-24
weeks) Coordinate short-term disability (STD) and FMLA leave with your PI and
the Associate Dean* of your Division at least 3 months before the birth and
make sure all of your paperwork is submitted at least 1 month before.
a. *There
are many associate deans in both the BSD and PSD. In the PSD the correct
associate dean to contact is the Associate Dean of Administration. There is no
identical dean in the BSD, but a good place to start is to contact the Associate Dean of
Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs and they can direct you to the correct person
if need be. (http://www.bsd.uchicago.edu/orgchart.html
and http://psd.uchicago.edu/about/staff.shtml)
b. You
will also want to coordinate your absence with your PI to make sure time-sensitive
experiments are covered and to clarify your plans for returning. FMLA
paperwork requires your supervisor and the associate deans signatures. STD
paperwork goes through the associate dean only.
c. Submit
both STD and FMLA forms to your healthcare provider for them to fill out. Many
offices ask for 2 weeks to get everything completed and charge a fee.
8 8.
(~20-24
weeks) Pre-register for your delivery at the hospital.
a. If
you have not already, call your insurance company to pre-certify your delivery.
Make sure that your insurance company covers the hospital where you plan to
deliver your baby so you do not get charged out-of-network fees. You need to
give them your due date and they will pre-certify the correct number of days
based on the type of delivery you expect to have (i.e. normal vaginal delivery
or Caesarean section). They know that both the due date and type of delivery
can change, but it is used as a placeholder until you actually deliver the
baby.
b. In
additional to pre-certifying your delivery with the insurance company, you
need to pre-register at the hospital where you will deliver. Northwestern
Memorial Prentice Women’s Hospital, for example, requires you to fill out a long form
online and then mail or fax in a number of signed consent forms.
c. During
pre-registration you will also have to pick a pediatrician for your child so
that the baby can be examined after birth. Again, recommendations from friends are quite
useful,
as are recommendations from the doctor you see. It is useful to pick a
pediatrician who sees patients at the same hospital you are delivering at.
9 9.
(~24-28
weeks) Look into the classes offered
at the hospital you will be delivering at,
and make reservations for yourself and
your support person.
a. Hospitals
will often have classes on the labor process, tours, infant CPR,
breast-feeding, etc. You can sign up for one or many (most not free) to help you prepare for the arrival of your child.
b. Generally
there are free tours of the labor and delivery facilities so that you
know where to go when the time comes. Free programs are generally not
advertised as well as those that cost money, so you may need to call and ask.
1 10. (Birth) Within 48 hours of the birth of
your child you need to make sure that your insurance company has been contacted
with the actual days you spend in the hospital.
a. The
pre-certification of the hospital stay is based on your estimated due date and
planned method of delivery. The insurance company knows this is probably not
the actual day you will deliver, so they give you time to call them after you
deliver the baby to adjust the dates. For BCBSIL PPO plan in 2013 it was a 48
hour time window, however, you should double check this with your own provider.
b. Some
hospitals will call the insurance company for you, but ultimately it is
your responsibility to make sure you let them know so that you don’t get
charged extra for an unauthorized hospital stay.
1 11. (Soon after birth) Within 30 days after the
birth of your child you need to enroll them onto your (or your partner’s)
insurance plan. Open enrollment timelines are very strict so don’t miss this
window!
1 12. Return
to Work
a. FMLA leave does require that you
present a “fitness-for-duty”
certificate to be restored to employment. This is something you will need to
obtain from your healthcare provider, most likely you will be cleared for work
after your 6 week post-partum checkup.
b. If you are receiving short-term
disability payments, you should contact the Associate Dean at least 14 days
prior to the anticipated return date. A Postdoctoral
Scholar
who returns to work after receiving STD may be required to furnish a medical
certification indicating the Scholar is able to return to work and
to perform the essential functions of his or her job.
