I’ve just spoken to someone here at the Uni of Nottingham who has just, 5-minutes-ag0, submitted her PhD dissertation. And the final months were, in her emphatic words, “worse than giving birth”. That’s coming from someone who has given birth a couple of times. So I’m looking forward to holding this over my wife, when I finish my own PhD: “Sure you’ve given birth a few times, but spare a thought for me – I’ve submitted a dissertation!!”
Perhaps while she’s in the pain of childbirth in January, I could comfort her with the words, “Don’t worry dearest – at least you’re not formatting a bibliography…”
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First, you might like to consider if that’s *really* the thing you want to say to a woman who is crazy with hormones, pain and sleeplessness…you’ve got a few months warning.
But she didn’t include the previous 9 months of pregnancy in her comment! Or being stitched up. Or…(I could go on, but perhaps you’d like me to spare your readers the really gory bits).
I tried the whole ‘it’s harder for me to watch you hurting, than it is to be hurt myself’ after my son was born (which means, of course, that the 18hr, med-free labour was harder on me than on my wife!). That didn’t go over so well.
As a uni student currently trying to write two assignments, and as a mother of two children, I have to say I’d rather give birth…. mainly because it was more fun than writing essays! (if it gives you any indication how much I hate assignments, I only have to write a total of 4500 words…. and still I’d rather have a baby
)
I’d definitely want somebody else to do the night-feeds though
Good luck with both the PhD and the birth
hmmm it seems the clear consensus is that when submitting academic work, mothers prefer childbirth; but when pregnant or actually giving birth, it’s best not to bring that up!