Ortho & pregnancy

[missladyrn]

Any ortho nurses want to tell me about your experience? I am a in my mid thirties and really nervous about being able to work while pregnant. We rarely have enough staff to properly lift people as it is. Can anyone tell me about how it was working in ortho while pregnant? Did you work up until the end? Any experience shared or advice would be appreciated!

[Chixie]

Hi, im an ortho nurse and im currently 18 weeks pregnant Other than the infectious diseases that ive been advised to avoid by my manager im doing my normal job. A lot of my patients are dementia patients so i have to be slightly wary when dealing with the ones who can/do lash out. The only thing that i have stopped doing is pushing beds with patients in.

[Redder]

It really depends on your units staffing. First ortho unit I worked on was staffed beautifully and I was able to work up until delivery with my first child. The second Ortho unit I worked on was so short staffed that I ended up going on leave 3 weeks early because I couldn't safely move the patients by myself. Wasn't safe for the patients or me.

My feeling is that if you "rarely have enough staff to properly lift people as it is" it will probably be unsafe for you to work up until the end of your pregnancy.