It seems the unexpected is the only expected when it comes to childbirth. Just ask recent mom Brianna Hill. Despite her plans to have her baby after writing the bar exam, her baby whole-heartedly disagreed. He decided to time his arrival during the exam instead. (1)
Pregnant During Bar Exam
Recent Loyola University School of Law grad Brianna didn’t expect to deliver her baby until the bar exam was far behind her. However, nothing prepared her for how it would all go down. (1)
“I thought I would only be 28 weeks pregnant when I took the bar,” she says. “However, due to the pandemic, the test was pushed to October and I was going to be 38 weeks. I joked about taking the test from my hospital bed. Lesson learned!” (1)
Water Breaks During Bar Exam
Lesson learned indeed. First, she had to adjust to the idea of taking the bar exam remotely. This method requires students to take the exam in 90-minute sections with scheduled tests over a two day period. The exams are proctored meaning students must remain seated in front of their computer and an active camera so they can’t cheat. (1)
This was no problem for Brianna — until she felt a little something about half an hour in. “I thought I felt something about 30 minutes into the test and actually thought, ‘I really hope my water didn’t just break,'” she says. “But I couldn’t go check and so I finished the first section. As soon as I stood up when I finished, I knew my water had broken.” (1)
Bar Exam Completed In Maternity Ward
While most women would probably figure time was up as far as the test was concerned, not so for Brianna. “I took my break, got myself cleaned up, called my husband, midwife, and mom, cried because I was a little panicked, then sat down to take the second part because my midwife told me I had time before I needed to go to the hospital,” she says. (1)
Once she completed the section, she headed to the hospital where her son arrived less than five hours later. “The whole time my husband and I were talking about how we wanted me to finish the test and my midwife and nurses were so on board. There just wasn’t another option in my mind,” she says. (1)
New Mom And New Lawyer
Knowing Brianna could miss out on her long time goal to become a lawyer, the hospital staff found her an empty room to finish the exam. They hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door where she carried on with her exam, nursing her son on breaks. (1)
“I’m so thankful for the support system I had around me,” says Brianna. “The midwives and nurses were so invested in helping me not only become a mom, but also a lawyer.” (1)
Brianna says her husband, friends and sister encouraged her to carry on, reminding her she could do it in those moments she doubted herself. Brianna is “so happy … to be a lawyer officially” with gratitude for “the best freaking support system ever.” (2)
