can a pregnant rn safely work icu?

[arizonacottontop]

Hi- I've been working on a med-surg/neuro icu for a couple of months. My husband and I would like to start a family. Do pregnant RNs work ICU safely? If not, which units might be appropriate? These days it seems many patients have MRSA and a bunch of other nasty organisms...but then again I am a firm believer in hand washing and other hygiene practices. Any opinions?

[fergus51]

Pregnant women can work safely with most infectious diseases by just following basic infection contol principles. No special problems with ICU as far as I know.

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

Best wishes to you with starting your family and career!

[suzanne4, RN]

I have worked some units, ICUs,, where over half of the staff was pregnant at the same time. There is absolutely no difference between infections there and on the regular floors. Remember that patients normally do not stay in the ICU for their entire stay, they get transferred out.

[NHRNmomof3]

I wouldn't worry about it. I worked ICU up until I delivered at 37 weeks with twins. My fellow nurses wouldn't let me near chicken pox or suspected TB, but other wise they were mine for the taking. I did avoid the suiciide attempts as they can be violent. I wanted to minimize my risk for injury.

[bridgetbsn]

Hi! I have worked in ICU for the past year and a half. We have had several women pregnant that has worked up until the week of their delivery. We did keep them from chicken pox and TB patients but most of the other patients were okay. They all delivered a healthy baby with no complications. Good luck on starting your family. :wink2:

[toadie]

i don't think there is any risk imposed by working on the unit that you wouldn't find on the floor. there are pt's with nasty bugs all over. on my unit we have a couple nurses who are pregnant and we try to work their assignments to minimize their exposure and the amount of lifting they have to do. as long as co-workers are thoughtful it should be safe.:)