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

[Wild Irish LPN]

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.....

[Wild Irish LPN, LPN]

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

a day he will certainly remember lol....yep, that is a very vulnerable position for a new mom to be in....trust would have to be established immediately, but I get it....I mean who would really want to be that exposed and vulnerable in front of anyone?....professionalism would have to win the day....

[VioletKaliLPN, LPN]

We did have a male in my LPN class. He was in my clinical group for OB at our clinical site, and he did not seem to have any problems with female patients. They were always asked if it was okay, and they seemed rather curious about a male in Nursing, and how his bedside care would be..

Me? I'll take a male or a female. As long as you care, treat me well and get my drugs when I am in pain, we will have a great Nurse-patient relationship.

Besides, your hands are larger, so more surface area to catch the baby in case he/she decides that RIGHT NOW is time to come on out.

[Karla_isela]

Hi! So nice to hear that someone else out there is as passionate about OB/Peds work as I am! :) I want to become a nurse-midwife, and honestly I would have no problem working with male nurses in that department. I have heard men are sometimes more gentler and comforting then women nurses only because they haven't experienced child birth and have full empathy for the woman that is going through it. When I delivered my first child, I had a great experience with my nurses but the second time around it just didn't work. They were so... distant and cold. I remember I had a really hard time naming my second and one of her remarks were: "You've had nine months to figure it out". I couldn't believe it. I think it takes a special kind of man to step up into this line of work. If you feel capable then go for it!

Now, my husband is very overprotective and if I were to have a male ob/nurse I'm sure he would flip! lol. I wouldn't care but knowing him he would demand a female.

[Britrn04, BSN, MSN, RN]

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.....

I have worked maternity for years at many hospitals in many states. I have never met a male nurse in the speciality. I wonder if you would get hired? Or if you would be unfairly judged? I wonder if a unit would be willing to make the change or the exception? As a mother, it would not make no difference if a male was my nurse (my OBGYN was) and as a nurse, working with male nurses is always a pleasure. I have seen many guys in the NICU/NBN...thought of that? Good luck!!

[spectrabrite, LVN]

during my OB / Maternal rounds I found that a lot of women at least in the hospital I was at in CA did not want a male nurse in post partum, or L & D. Nursery was a fun time, NICU was great.

[HazeKomp, BSN, RN]

Our hospital has some great male postpartum, nursery and NICU RNs!

[palmsofvictory]

I am a male nurse and I think part of the difference is a male Dr. has usually had the chance to build a relationship with the pt over time (appointments, etc.) A male nurse involved in delivery is more likely than not a complete stranger. Being a male AND a complete stranger isn't a favorable combination to pts.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

I work in the field and have been a patient. I don't care who my nurse is, or what their chromosomes are, as long as they are caring and know what they're doing. I've had male and female OBs, and it honestly didn't make a difference to me. Both my labors, the CRNA who did my epidural was male, and by the time it was all said and done they had seen all my junk too and it didn't matter. I'd welcome a male nurse on my unit with open arms if (again) he is a caring individual and knows his stuff.

You will have the occasional patient who just doesn't want you in her room because you're an XY, but plenty of XX nurses have been 'fired' by patients as well. It's not just you, and don't take it personally.

[armynurse68]

While serving in the army,I was assigned to a MBU at an large military hospital. I worked with 2 great military LPNs that were males. Yes, they were assigned/ordered to work on the MBU but feel in love with OB nursing. Only a handful of women refused to have them as nurses and that was over the course of a year. Most patients loved their nursing style, and I think having one male nurse attend to you out of the 3 or 4 nurses you will have during your stay brings great insight into the parenting/teaching aspect of OB nursing. Maybe the father won't feel so left out. I say go for it!

[carrie_c]

I am a labor and delivery/postpartum/newborn nurse (we do it all on my floor), and we have an all female staff. However, they did just hire a male tech. He hasn't started yet, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Of course, a tech is different than a nurse, but I think it will pave the way for male nurses later. I don't really see it as a big deal, although we do have a lot of breastfeeding issues on my floor. It is a little hard for me to picture a male nurse helping a new mother breastfeed, lol. And I can't really picture a male teaching peri care. But I guess it's just because it isn't common practice. I don't think most of the mothers would care if their L&D nurse was male, however I think the husbands/boyfriends would have more of a problem with it. I say if you want to do it, go for it. Like someone said, patients have fired female nurses.

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

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

Including a male doctor?

[PMFB-RN, RN]

It's fine to discuss how patients might or might not feel about a man taking care of them. It's also fine to encourage the OP to "go for it". However the only thing that really counts are the nurse managers who will, or far, far more likely, will not offer him a job in OB. I guess it wouldn't hurt to apply, all they can do is say no and who knows? You might just get lucky and apply with one of the tiny minority would would even consider hiring you. The rest will discriminate aginst you based on gender.

As far as peds goes, well that is very different. Men kick butt in peds and are very well reguarded. Men doing peds face only the normal anti men in nursing bias that is persistant throughout nursing, not the especialy virulent bias faced by men wishing to do OB.