Men in OB/Peds Nursing....Any thoughts?....

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

I remember seeing something posted along these lines a while back, but it never really "got going" so I thought I would open it up for one more try....I am about to finish my LPN Program, and then will be in pursuit of my BSN starting in August....I am in the midst of my Maternal/OB course and have found that I really love this type of nursing....so fascinating and amazing to me.....until I actually have a rotation in my BSN program, I have no "real world" nursing experience in this realm, my experience is as a Dad of two boys and the shared birth process/pregnancies I had with my wife....I loved every minute of her pregnancy and studied up on all the details as a prospective Dad, I read numerous books on the subjects involved and was rivited....that was long before I considered nursing....

Now here I am in nursing school and I rediscovered my passion for this amazing event....but I have (maybe in my own mind) a problem....you see, I am a guy....and even though I am open minded and have a passion to pursue this specialty, I feel like it may be poorly accepted by my fellow female classmates, but most importantly my future patients....Is seeing a man in OB nursing really all that odd or out of place?.....be honest, would you have any concerns or modesty if I were to walk into your room to care for you?....or is this just something I need to get over?.....I have loved all my nursing experiences so far, but this is the one area that has really peaked my interest the most....so I open it up to all of you veteran nurses for some good advice, I m all ears.....

as far as pediatrics go, both of the peds instructors where I go are male - and they are wonderful wonderful caregivers - and the guys in our class actually saw more births during the OB rotation...

I never got a chance to really labor but honestly half the hospital is looking at your vajayjay, what's one more?

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I am a guy....and even though I am open minded and have a passion to pursue this specialty, I feel like it may be poorly accepted by my fellow female classmates, but most importantly my future patients....Is seeing a man in OB nursing really all that odd or out of place?.....be honest.

*** Actually I think your classmates and future patients are the very least of your problems. The real problem is gong to be the OB unit nurse managers, the vast majority of them who will refuse to hire you based on your gender. Of course they won't say it is your gender.

This is an area where the widespread anti men in nursing bias is shown most clearly. The issue isn't strange men involved in the birth process. If it were then the male OB-GYN and family practice physicians would be an issue and for the most part they are not. No this is a demonstration of the anti male nurse bias that one will encounty throughout nursing and of wish there are other examples.

I would refuse any male being in a labor/delivery room with me except my husband.

Specializes in pediatrics, public health.

Since you mention Peds nursing in your subject line I'll say that when I worked in a peds hospital, there were probably about as many male nurses as there were in the adult med/surg units where I did my clinical rotations in nursing school -- in other words, maybe about 15% of the nurses. They were well accepted and great to work with!

I also did my preceptorship in nursing school in a NICU, and although there were only 2 or 3 male nurses there, they also seemed to be well accepted by other staff and by most of the families -- although there may have been a handful of families that didn't want a male nurse give mom advice about breastfeeding.

I agree with others though that if OB nursing is your passion, go for it! The only way to break down gender barriers is not to let them stop you from applying for a job that you want -- if enough men do that, things will change.

Good luck!

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I would refuse any male being in a labor/delivery room with me except my husband.

*** I occasionaly work in a very small rural hospital. From time to time there are women who express the desire to not have men involved during the delivery. This alwasy amazes me. They choose to give birth in a small rural hospital where selection of health care providers is very limited and then expect their wishes to be acomadated. Even at times becoming very upset when it proves impossible. One time there was a couple from Somalia (very very unusual in the area) and they arrived with the wife in labor and demanded that only female physicians and nurses provide care. They had never before come to the hospital and she was not a patient of any (I should say neither) of our physicians. I explained that we only had one physician and he was a man. and it was impossible to prove a female physician, though we could acomadate then with female RNs since there happened to be two of us in the hospital and the other RN was a woman with OB experience. They were very unhappy and complained no stop.

I am sure that larger facilities could acommadate such requests and it seems perfectly reasonable to me if made in advance.

Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

Most women wouldn't have a problem with it. There are male OB's, after all. I prefer a female OB, though I wouldn't refuse a male if that's who happened to be on call that day, but if this is your interest, go with it! Just be prepared that you may be the only male nurse on the OB floor, and may have some refusals from some women.

Specializes in Cardiology and ER Nursing.

It doesn't really matter. Most patients don't care. You'll get a few that do, but you see that in Med/Surg too so big deal. On the flip side you have those patients that don't want a female as their nurse and would prefer a male.

IDK I'm with the others who say what's the diff between a male dr and male nurse being there? lol.. I guess if a pt was uncomfy they can just ask for a female,, usually at this point in the pregnancy you just want it out and couldn't care less what or who helps remove it (j/k)

the somalis i completely understand, and there are other religious or ethnic groups for whom it is anathema for any male beside her husband to see the woman (and female nurses and physicians cannot care for males, so it's at least fair). fortunately, this is usually worked out ahead of time and everyone is ready.

when i was a student in nineteen-smumblemumble, i had 2 male classmates (class of 135). it was a big stinking deal to get them into the ob floor, and the generally-accepted assumption was that they would never see the inside of a del rooom again unless it was for their own children. thankfully, in the intervening decades things are not that restricted or prejudiced.

i had a male midwife with my first pregnancy. he wasn't on duty for my labor, but he did do my 14-day postpartum check. great guy-- and did a good job caring for my (completely nonmedical) husband, which was better. if i can adore my kids' male pediatrician (and i did, looked like tom bosley and was an absolute dear), i'd see no problem in adoring a male pediatric nurse practitioner in the same role.

go for it. let us know how it works out!

Specializes in M/S, ICU, ICP.

I say go for it. Things are changing world over and since men universally have been the OB/GYNs and women have accepted that for eons, it should not be a problem. That being said, people change slowly so it may take a longer time for administration to realize that men make fantastic nurses in all areas. You may have to help blaze that trail. Good luck.

Specializes in Mental Health, Hospice Care.

Thanks for all the feedback....I understand the cultural customs that some may have, and obviously would be very mindful of that....I have been asked to leave the room once or twice by some modest patients, I get it....however the vast majority of women I have cared for have never said a word, and were interested in what made me want to work as a nurse in the first place....a good ice breaker most of the time....my Maternal/OB instructor asked me to follow my passion, which has surprisingly led to this, when I entered school I figured the ER was more my style....but things change....the biggest payback for me in doing this is certainly not for the paycheck, it would simply be to help a new mom and new life enter the world in the best way possible....if problems should occur along the way I would like to think my calm and professional nature would see them through any crisis, but the thought of bringing new life and joy into the world is my paycheck....it would be an awesome thing....(yes I am aware I am a "idealistic" rookie nurse, but you know what?....that is a great thing....)

Thats interesting. I have had four babies, only one of them I had a female physician for the birth. I don't think I really cared either way about my ob/gyns gender. Really, when "push comes to shove" (lol) what you want is the person who is going to do the best job to keep your baby safe at the other end of the bed.

But.

But, personally, I might have had a problem with a guy nurse, after all the drama is over. When you are beyond tired, and your girly parts are all swollen and sore and you cant get properly dressed at all and you are trying to learn to breastfeed and you've got all your business hanging out....I might feel a bit more awkward.

When I delivered my first child, it was an emergency c-section/ cholecystectomy. Incision goes from my sternum all the way down, and I woke up with lots of staples. I was alone in my room, and had a reaction to the pain meds. I couldn't sit up yet, had all the stupid staples, engorged, leaking breasts, half undressed and when I started puking and couldnt stop, I started hitting my nurse button....and I felt sorry for the poor student nurse, who was male, that came in to help me. He was scared, nervous, didnt know where to touch me, stuttering, apologizing for "seeing" me, and although I didnt ask for it, after a few minutes he just bolted out the door. About ten minutes later, a female nurse came in. Apparently, it was his first day. Poor guy. :) lol

+ Add a Comment