Pregnant and can't lift?

Sarahstudeman · Jun 15, 2011

You are very dramatic...being confined to a house would be rediculous...i can only assume you have never had complications in pregnancy...you are among the very few who think pregnancy is not a fragile state...and the mother should have the option of how fragile to keep it..

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Jun 15, 2011

Huh? Pregnancy is NOT a fragile state. There is no reason a pregnant nurse can't do her job as she normally would. I wouldn't do it for her and as a provider I wouldn't giver her a written work excuse. Suck it up cupcake and do your job. It won't kill you and it won't kill your baby. Laziness is killing your whole generation though.

Tait, MSN, RN · Jun 15, 2011

This thread is so old! lol

I remember working with a waitress who got pregnant and refused to carry ice or glasses to restock at the end of the shift. There are definitely those who will take any advantage they can get to get out of work.

I am currently 37 weeks pregnant after two years of TTC and two early miscarriages. I was high risk, I would get dizzy and nauseous after a lift, I was on a 20# weight restriction after I came back from a month of FMLA for severe nausea and vomiting, I bled until nearly 12 weeks, I took Prometrium to hold my pregnancy. This being said I still lift now if someone needs it. Luckily it isn't often, we are well staffed, and more often than not my co-workers are the ones shooing me out of the room.

I guess my point is without extenuating circumstances and a doctor's order there was probably no reason at all for this new momma to be too overly cautious, though I can understand the proclivity to be so. This subject is hard for me because I understand the fear, but I also understand the responsibility to care for the patients as well. Since she left for a self-proclaimed "easier" job, she probably wasn't really that concerned with being a team player in the end anyway.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2011

You are very dramatic...being confined to a house would be rediculous...i can only assume you have never had complications in pregnancy...you are among the very few who think pregnancy is not a fragile state...and the mother should have the option of how fragile to keep it..

We are not being dramatic - if new mommy cannot be around isolation pts, even with precautionary guard, she also has no business going to church/synagogue, parties, stores where all the CDiff/MRSA/VRE s run free without isolation garb on. She can't drive because the seat belt injury to her abdomen if she might get hit. Can't use the stove if it might leak gas.

Recently we had 9 staffers pregnant at various times in one year. Not to mention the assisted conception issues, hormones in two others, and a few that were trying/ might be. It is hard enough to care for a crashing retonovir pt when no one else can enter the room - I spent 14 hours in one room, with intubation, multiple line placements, drips started, a bedside endoscopic procedure - because no one could risk "exposure". But there was no way the nonpregnant nurses could take all the RSV/ resistant flu/VRE/MRSA PTA, do all the lifts, and give all the chemo.

There are some common and reasonable accommodations for to make for pregnant coworkers. Beyond that, an MD note should be presented so that the staffers can be shuffled, so that the required work can be done. Because pregnancy or no, the primary twork is to keep the pt alive and properly cared for - and if there is not sufficient capable staff to do that, changes have to made.

PS. If you are using proper isolation precautions with VRE/MRSA, why is that sufficient to protect the rest of us and not the pregnant pt - ours take them all the time. They are not allowed in retonovir, resistant flu, cmv, chickenpox/shingles rooms though.

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2011

I'm wondering when you really are not supposed to lift when pregnant? I'm sure I was quite careful with my first, but the reality of hauling a toddler around while pregnant with the second made me realize we are NOT made of glass
Anyway, we have a new nurse who announced her pregnancy at about five weeks and won't lift anything heavier than a chart. No boosts, etc. Now, I don't want to ask her to do anything she really shouldn't, but she is healthy, young, has not been told by her doctor to avoid any type of lifting, so....? We happen to be insanely short-handed so finding someone to move her patients or whatever can be problematic. I imagine as time goes on she'll be even less "able". The charge nurse is dealing with it by not dealing with it just yet.
Anyone have any ideas about this?

This falls under the category of a discussion you should have with your OB.

Pregnancy is not a disability and unless you have a written order from your physician that you are on a lifting restriction while pregnant, they do not have to change your assignments.

The flack that many pregnant nurses get from being pregnant (one was terminated from my department while pregnant for "faking" the need for bed rest that she never documented along with multiple call-ins...yet, posting pictures of her going out to eat with friends, etc on Facebook)...is claiming that they cannot do things when they are pregnant when they absolutely can.

Another was sent home when she kept claiming that she could not lift anything and the supervisor just finally said, "Ok, well then why don't you go home and bring back a physician's note and we will be happy to accomodate that."...she called back 24 hours later and had to confess her physician would not write her one.

Certain assignments should not be given to you when patients have certain conditions/diseases/infections and you should be given that courtesy without a physician's note.

Just be very, very careful and pick your battles. Your co-worker that refuses to lift anything heavier than a chart at 5 weeks is treading on thin ice with her boss, the facility and her co-workers.

MyGranniePanties · Jun 15, 2011

Ummm where did all this "pregnancy is not a disability" stuff come from? Inform yourselves!

http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-preg.html

dudette10, MSN, RN · Jun 15, 2011

Ummm where did all this "pregnancy is not a disability" stuff come from? Inform yourselves!
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-preg.html

That document refers to discrimination during pregnancy. Pregnancy itself is not a disability.

Take a look at this one that clearly states that only conditions related to pregnancy which prevent the employee from performing all the requirements of the job constitute a disability. The EEOC document was concerned with equal treatment when such a condition exists. It did not state that pregnancy is a disability.

http://askjan.org/soar/other/preg.html

ETA: We as women have worked way too hard to break the glass ceiling and prove that we should be treated equally under the law. Our jobs are not done yet, although many of us have forgotten a time when being nurses, secretaries, and teachers were the only jobs available to us. For every pregnant woman without legitimate cause to whine that she can't do the job adds fuel to underhanded illegal employer tactics to break the laws that our sisters fought so hard for. Respect our sisters that have gone before us and be mindful of their gift to us.

RNKPCE · Jun 15, 2011

If you have a non work related back problem and needs restricted duty you aren't allowed to work where I work. They do not make accommodations for lifting for not work related( or caused) problems. This would hold true for pregnancy as well.

I'll never forget a relative of mine who said she couldn't go camping because she was 10 weeks pregnant(without any issues) and she shouldn't be sleeping on an air mattress in her state. pleazzzzze.

MyGranniePanties · Jun 15, 2011

That document refers to discrimination during pregnancy. Pregnancy itself is not a disability.
Take a look at this one that clearly states that only conditions related to pregnancy which prevent the employee from performing all the requirements of the job constitute a disability. The EEOC document was concerned with equal treatment when such a condition exists. It did not state that pregnancy is a disability.
http://askjan.org/soar/other/preg.html
ETA: We as women have worked way too hard to break the glass ceiling and prove that we should be treated equally under the law. Our jobs are not done yet, although many of us have forgotten a time when being nurses, secretaries, and teachers were the only jobs available to us. For every pregnant woman without legitimate cause to whine that she can't do the job adds fuel to underhanded illegal employer tactics to break the laws that our sisters fought so hard for. Respect our sisters that have gone before us and be mindful of their gift to us.

Your document clearly states that women who are pregnant could/should have restrictions in the workplace. It is not up to all of our nonpregnant coworkers to decide what pregnant women should or should not feel comfortable doing. When I was pregnant, I refused to get in a ladder. I wa fortunate enough to have respectful and considerate coworkers that would pick up that task for me in exchange for me completeing a task for them. I probably would have been perfectly fine getting on that ladder, but I was not going to risk the life of my child to do it.

Maybe instead of complaining about having to do a little extra to help someone out, we as "sisters" should be conscious of the threat of miscarriage and the severe psychological and physical impairment something like that can cause.

I'm not trying to say that I don't think some preggos milk it for all that it's worth, but there is no reason to punish someone because of the misguided actions of another. If the pregnant person in question is just trying o be lazy, then I'm sure it didn't start the day they got pregnant. They would have been lazy all along, and still after the baby was born.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Jun 15, 2011

If you have a non work related back problem and needs restricted duty you aren't allowed to work where I work. They do not make accommodations for lifting for not work related( or caused) problems. This would hold true for pregnancy as well.

Are you saying that only work-related injuries are accommodated while non-work related injuries--even if the reasonable accommodations are exactly the same--aren't accommodated? Hrmmm...

dudette10, MSN, RN · Jun 15, 2011

You stated that a pregnancy without complications was a disability. It is not, by law. You cannot argue that it is, which was the point of your first post.

Your document clearly states that women who are pregnant could/should have restrictions in the workplace. It is not up to all of our nonpregnant coworkers to decide what pregnant women should or should not feel comfortable doing. When I was pregnant, I refused to get in a ladder. I was fortunate enough to have respectful and considerate coworkers that would pick up that task for me in exchange for me completeing a task for them. I probably would have been perfectly fine getting on that ladder, but I was not going to risk the life of my child to do it.

This is a different argument all together. First, "could have restrictions" is a much different statement from "should have restrictions." It does not clearly state that all pregnant women must have work restrictions.

Secondly, getting on a ladder is dangerous for anyone, not just pregnant women. You are talking about coworker unity, not whether you had the legal right to refuse to climb the ladder. You chose to not get on the ladder, and your coworkers chose to help you. Your being pregnant did not render you unable to climb a ladder, as you already stated.

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2011

Ummm where did all this "pregnancy is not a disability" stuff come from? Inform yourselves!
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-preg.html

Good lord...pregnancy is NOT considered a medical disability.

Have you finished nursing school yet?

You have to treat pregnancy IF WARRANTED the same as any other short-term disability...and if you have a short-term disability, guess what you have to have? A doctor's note.

As a former upper-level manager AND a mother of two, I can assure you that the law did not require me to treat pregnant women ANY differently than any other employee UNLESS a physician's order said I had to.

But you cannot show up to work, announce you are pregnant, and expect everyone to bow down...the law DOES NOT require an employer to do that.