male labor and delivery nurses

Me too. I feel kinda bad about it, but for my own personal reasons, I made sure I had/have a female OB/GYN and I would have freaked out if there had been a male in the delivery room when I had my baby. And I had complications and was up on all 4's, etc. I still wanted all females. I just feel INCREDIBLY uncomfortable with a male doctor/nurse, etc, when it comes to my cootchies, he he.

That being said, I don't believe most women feel the way I feel, especially since there are still way more male OB/GYN's out there. I don't have anything against men who go into these fields and their gender has no bearing on their ability to do a good job so overall I still think you should go for it.

Here in Winter Haven we have a male Labor and Delivery RN. The only patient that has ever refused his care are those that do so for religious reasons such as Muslims. He Rocks.

Ditto here in NYC. Our sole male RN is cherished.

I have said this here before, but when I was pregnant with my dd, the BEST L and D nurse was male. He was so gentle and very professional. It was a military hospital and he was a USAF captain. He was amazing. And we have had males on and off in my current unit, all wonderful. No reason on earth a man cannot work in L and D if that is his passion and goal.

I do not understand why male nurses are "shunned" out of L&D. If women have male OB’s delivering their pup, why would it matter if their nurse was male. Doesn’t competence matter MORE than gender?

I understand that in some cases a patient would just be more comfy with a woman, but "reverse sexism" is wrong.

I think the OP should go for it!

I am glad there is some support for more men getting into L&D. I am a NICU nurse with loads of delivery experience. I also do a lot of parent and breastfeeding education (I will be sitting for the IBCLC boards once I gather all my hours). I have been wanting to get into L&D now for about a year and have applied all over the place only to be quickly rejected despite meeting all of the listed criteria. There were two hospitals that I submitted my resume twice, once with "Michael" and once with "Michelle"...guess who got a call back!? At this point, I have stopped self-identifying the EEOC information and changed my resume to reflect only my first and middle initial. Thankfully, I am now staff at a facility who was very open to me cross training to L&D once I am eligible for an internal transfer.

I completely understand that, as the above poster stated, that *SOME* women would be more comfortable with a woman, but not hiring a qualified, experienced nurse (with excellent references I might add!) based on that is not only foolish, it is illegal gender discrimination.

As a nursing student, I never really gave much thought as to what area I wanted to work in. I worked in a nursing home for two years and then worked in the float pool in our local hospital. Because I was a nursing student (BSN), I was ‘allowed’ to float to L&D despite the fact that males NEVER floated to L&D and I was a male. After two shifts working with postpartum patients, I was hooked. The lights came on and I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was present when my son was born and it left a lasting impression. I was an older (40 when I started) student and I think that made me somewhat more acceptable, but some nurses still were unsure. Within two months, I applied for and accepted a position in L&D. I have a good work ethic and my patients seem to really like me. Not in a sick way but I have heard that I have a soothing deep voice. I received numerous letters mentioning my good care and never received a bad one. In four years, I had three patients that didn’t want males but never anyone that didn’t want me specifically. The nurses decided I was OK after seeing me work. Within months, I was asked to cross train to surgical tech for caesareans and tubal ligations. I happily accepted. The Doctors liked my attention to detail and general demeanor. Some of the nurses responded with, “Well, of course they like you, your another guy” I also trained for and started teaching the car seat portion of the prenatal classes. I did all I could to make myself invaluable. During my evaluations, I received ‘Role Model’ the highest possible assessment. Then, the manager that hired me left and a new manager was installed. She was a former college and I didn’t think there would be a problem. But, I have just graduated and passed my NCLEX. I applied for an open position and two former techs and one of my classmates (that has never worked in L&D) were hired (all women). Then I asked my manager, she said that she had too many new grads and she couldn’t hire another one. One of the senior nurses that I work with came to me and told me that she over heard my manager and one of the other supervisors talking about, “how nice it will be to have all women again.” When confronted with this information she didn’t deny that the conversation took place only that the unnamed nurse should not have come to me with the information.
During school, I naively thought that the maternity instructor (and advisor) would be pleased with my interest. When I told her that I was interested in L&D she asked if I was interested in the ED (Emergency Department) I told her that I had been floated in to the ED but that I really liked L&D. She continued with,”Did I like the ICU?” Again I indicated that I had floated to the ICU but was really passionate about L&D. Exasperated, She asked,”How about the NICU, I know they have men in the NICU.” Confused, I said that I really didn’t have any other department that I loved as much as L&D/MNCU (Mother Newborn Care Unit) She lost her temper and slammed my file shut and told me that, “No one in (my city) is ever going to hire a man in L&D, so I might as well get that out of my head!” So ended my advising session. I was hired about 90 days later. I filed a complaint and she was not allowed to teach my clinical for maternity but she was the coordinator and the only lecturer for the class. It was exasperating for both of us, but after three years in L&D I passed the class with a ‘C’. It was frustrating, my first ‘C’. I just accepted it, happy to have passed the class. She called me 10 days before the beginning of the next semester and told me she, “had a crisis of conscience” and just couldn’t allow me to continue. She had gone into my file and changed the grade to a ‘D’ which is a failure. A grievance takes 20 days for the response. I continued with the grievance but I lost my friends, study groups, and placement. The grievance was answered with, “The coordinator can do whatever she wished.” I went to the Human Rights Board. Suddenly the school was appalled by what she had done. A new maternity coordinator was hired and my nemesis was reduced to a two credit class in the senior year. The terms of my “settlement” were sealed. They didn’t want anyone to know but I was happy given the damage to my education was already done.
I really love what I do. Fathers are an integral part of the birthing process, or at least we hope they are. And for those present, they need someone on the floor to ask questions. Many are uncomfortable asking a female nurse and looking stupid. I always assess the comfort of my patients and if I feel they need a female nurse I switch, or would, it hasn’t happened yet. Some ask how I can do that 36 hour a week, go home, and have interest in your girlfriend. It seems like a silly question to me. If you see your kids naked do you have a hard time seeing you sig other in a different way? Does a female nurse get turned on my inserting a catheter into a male patient? Do women truly believe that male nurses only think about sex when we see them exposed? Bad news ladies, if you want to turn a guy on, labor is the wrong time. There is nothing sensual about nursing, or shouldn’t be. We are there to care for patients. Our gender is irrelevant unless it is upsetting to our patient. One of the prior comments talked about “Koochies” That seems a little juvenile. Women have vaginas and men have penises. It is just a part of anatomy. Excellent patient care is what should be important. One the other hand I am very uncomfortable caring for one of my nurses. There are some things I just don’t want to know. I did find it interesting to care for my surgeon. Just before surgery she quipped, “ You got to see my belly now I get to see yours.”
So Wisconsin Student, I hope you don't have any of the problems that I have experienced but it may crop up. First, have thick skin. Second, be careful of who you tell about your desire. Three, GO FOR IT! It is a great area

Great post omeconium, ITA with you! I am sorry for all you went through, how frustrating.

Holy Cow, omeconium! WHAT a nightmare! So glad you persevered and got what you wanted.

WIN!

I had 1 male nurse postpartum with my first. I think he was the most pleasant & polite of all the nurses I had with my oldest child. Personally I don't care if the nurse is male or female. That one male nurse is the only one I remember from my first birth in a positive light. Good luck with finding a L/D position.