Parenting Doctoral Students: Reflections on Identity, Perseverance, and Support

One in every five college students in the U.S. is navigating higher education and parenting simultaneously (Yates, 2024). Griffin (2024) confirms this statement and offers a glimpse into the demands that mothering students must navigate, such as managing coursework and assignment deadlines on top of parenting their children. Indeed, while this balancing act remains demanding and often claims one’s sleep and rest (Griffin, 2024), for parents, “receiving a college degree is one of the best investments they can make to improve the financial security, social mobility, and overall well-being of their family” (Kruvelis, 2017, p.1). 

In this blog, I reflect on how I navigate the dual identity of being a doctoral student and a mother through my personal experiences of pregnancy, mothering a newborn, and parenting my six-year-old son while pursuing doctoral studies. Additionally, I explore the support from my faculty and university in general, which in part has served as a major motivation to continue my studies. Research indicates that effective support from faculty and university administration is a critical determinant of whether parenting students continue their pursuit of higher education or withdraw from college (Nzau et al., 2025; Yates, 2024). I conclude this article by inviting readers, especially university administration and faculty, to engage in further examinations of institutional and instructional support for parenting students in colleges and universities. 

Babies and Books—Personal Reflections

I write this blog from a deep personal perspective, a place shaped by the realities I am writing about while attempting to make sense of them. As a current graduate student pursuing a doctorate in educational policy and leadership, I started my doctoral studies in the fall of 2023 7-months pregnant with our second baby. My firstborn was four years old at this time. During orientation week, I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety, as that week was my first time meeting my faculty, advisors, and fellow students. On the orientation day, in a futile effort, I was careful to choose a dress that was not too fitted to expose my pregnancy at first glance. My mind raced with thoughts that were a mix of rational and irrational: What will the faculty think of me? Will they take me seriously? What about my classmates? Won’t I make them feel uncomfortable? What if my brain stops working (in my defense, I read a lot about pregnancy brain, and this thought seemed rational at that time)? These thoughts raced through my mind, yet classes had not yet started. 

Navigating doctoral studies as a pregnant student while dealing with imposter syndrome as a first-year doctoral student presented significant challenges that reshaped my academic experience in unexpected ways. Managing extensive reading requirements, as my attention span had decreased during my pregnancy, often felt overwhelming. During the final weeks of my pregnancy, course assignments, usually demanding but manageable, presented an additional challenge, often leading me to question my intelligence. Sleep and rest were utterly disrupted, leaving me to work at odd hours. Physical comfort was also elusive, as I struggled to attain a position on the small classroom chairs that allowed me to focus on lessons without physical discomfort. Everyday required careful planning and constant negotiation of priorities to balance my schooling while caring for my growing family. This period of my life has brought both vulnerability and resilience, highlighting the need for universities to consider the lived experiences of pregnant and parenting students and offer support that goes beyond policy-- addressing the physical, academic, and well-being of this group of students within higher education spaces. 

Institutional and Faculty Support in Universities 

Research shows that with the right support from higher education institutions and faculty, parenting students thrive and succeed (Yates, 2024; Griffin, 2024), and in some cases, they outperform non-parenting students (Griffin, 2024). These supports can range from connecting parenting students to financial resources to accessible childcare (Kruvelis, 2017). While institutional support plays a significant role in assisting parenting students in their studies, I would like to introduce an alternative perspective that focuses more on the personal interactions and relationships parenting students have with faculty.

One of my fears when I enrolled as a pregnant doctoral student was how the faculty in my department would perceive and interact with me. I feared I would not be welcomed as a doctoral student considering the hostility of pregnant and parenting students in higher education (Fitzpatrick & Sweet, 2024), spaces that are often designed with young, non-parenting students in mind (Kruvelis, 2027). What helped me settle my anxiety was not only the university policies on nondiscriminatory practices towards parenting students but the vocalized affirmation from most, if not all, of my faculty members. Professors who offered course assignment extensions, connected me to campus resources for parenting students, and checked in on my well-being beyond coursework became anchors of my stability in the program. Two faculty members sent me congratulatory messages and suggested a tailored working timeline when I gave birth. This validation was more than academic; it recognized the person beyond the student and motivated me to stay in the program. Yates (2024) speaks to the importance of positive interactions university faculty have with parenting students as being central to parenting students’ persistence and retention in higher education spaces. In another study, Sallee and Yates (2023) highlight that all underrepresented student groups, including parenting students, can benefit from these positive relationships with university faculty who can provide valuable information and resources, correlating with school performance and academic success. 

Finding Research Inspiration in My Lived Reality

My experience as a pregnant and parenting student inspired my ongoing doctoral dissertation research, which explores educator support for adolescent mothers in secondary schools. My lived experiences and struggles as a parenting student and those faced by adolescent mothers in secondary schools point to a common understanding: institutional and educator support can make the difference between persistence and school retention, belonging and invisibility (Yates, 2024). Through my research, I have learned that teachers and school leaders, when empowered and informed, can foster inclusive climates and advance policies that respond to the realities of parenting students (Mbugua, 2013; Nzau et al., 2024). These practices echo the calls for change at the higher education level from research-driven policy advocacy, faculty-student relationship building, and resource allocation, which inadvertently communicates who belongs and whose aspirations are valued in these higher education spaces (Yates, 2024). Both my experience and research underscore the same imperative: when educators and policy makers prioritize the needs of parenting students just as they do for traditional non-parenting students, they establish the foundation for true educational equity.

Invitation to Dialogue & Recommendations

Plumb and Wheeler (2025) underscored the responsibility higher education faculty have to create environments where parenting students feel seen and valued. Yes, policies within higher education institutions are advantageous in that they provide financial access and childcare support to parenting students; however, real belongingness is developed through intentional human connection.This is where faculty come in. As in my case, many parenting students enter higher education institutions unsure and second-guessing whether they belong. Supporting parenting students in this regard, I offer the following two recommendations for higher education administration and faculty: 

1. Check-in and create space for dialogue: regularly ask parenting students how they are doing with genuine interest in their well-being. Faculty or university administration should create safe spaces where parenting students can freely share their struggles, concerns, and joys with peers or faculty. 

2. Faculty and staff should validate the realities and ideas of parenting students in a positive manner, demonstrating respect and a sense of belonging.

Higher education administration and faculty should move beyond policies to embrace these humanizing strategies, sending a powerful message that parenting students belong and their success matters to higher education communities. Such attention to parenting students will advance equity and access, and lead to their academic success within higher education.

 

References

Fitzpatrick, K., & Sweet, B. (2024). Motherhood in the music academy. Journal of Research in Music Education, 71(4), 373–397. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294231154277

Griffin, A. (2024, September 25). 1 in 5 college students have kids: Here’s how to help them balance books and babies. Today’s Students Coalition. https://todaysstudents.org/1-in-5-college-students-have-kids-heres-how-to-help-them-balance-books-and-babies/

Kruvelis, M. (2017, June 21). Building family-friendly campuses: Strategies to promote college success among student parents. Institute for Women’s Policy Research. https://iwpr.org/building-family-friendly-campuses-college-success-student-parents/

Mbugua, W.N. (2013). Stakeholder’s roles in implementing the readmission policy on adolescent mothers in public secondary schools in Kikuyu district, Kiambu county, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, The Catholic University of Eastern Africa). ResearchGate

Nzau, S., Davis Jr, R., & Baker, S. (2025, September). Supporting parenting students: Recommendations for colleges addressing child care barriers. Center on Education & Labor, Education, Policy, & Higher Education

Plumb, H.M., & Wheeler, E.P. (2025, February). Pillars of support: Results from an evaluation of the parenting students project at Austin Community College. Trellis Strategies. https://www.trellisstrategies.org/research-studies/pillars-of-support-results-from-an-evaluation-of-the-parenting-students-project-at-austin-community-college/

Sallee, M. W., & Yates, A.S.  (2023). The ties that bind: Student-mothers’ social capital during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Review of Higher Education 47, no. 1 (Fall): 31–60. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2023.a907270.

Yates, S.A. (2024). Raising expectations for institutional intervention: What colleges can do to support student-parent success. American Council on Education.