Male CNMW?

[PMFB-RN, RN]

DO any of you know of men working as CNMW? I know there are some but I have never met one. I work in an SICU. I wanted to work part time in a different unit to gain experience. When I applied to my hospitals L&D unit they acted like I must be some sort of pervert to want to work in L&D. I have been married to a great woman for 14 years and we have two wonderful kids. I was fascinated by the whole pregnancy/birth/lactation process. I ended up taking a part time job in PICU and I like it very much except I have been a little frustrated that so for I always assigned to young male patients. This is fine as I have a great report with boys (I am an expert in everything they love, football, guns, fishing, video games etc) but I am not learning anything about developing therapeutic relationships with young girls. Of course I am assuming that there is a difference between them. I don't really know due to a lack of experience with young female patients. I do often take care of young female trauma patients in the SICU but they are usually intubated and sedated.

Both of my children were delivered by a CNMW (She was awesome!). I was fascinated by the whole thing. I am a devoted family man and don't much appreciate the "you must be a pervert" attitude I have seen so far.

Can any of share experiences with any male CNMWs you know or have known?

TIA

[CNM2B]

I haven't personally known any male CNM's, but I know that they are out there (I know that there is one currently practicing in the Pittsburgh area--I believe he went to Frontier). I certainly think that it is something you should pursue if that is your passion. I can't BELIEVE you are being treated so direspectfully--after all, no one questions a man's motives when he decides to become an OB/GYN! I would check on the website for the Amercian College of Nurse Midwives (www.midwife.org). They have a place where you can search for a CNM online, and maybe you can find one or more in your area....

If not, you could always be the first! Good luck!

[Bree124, BSN, RN]

I think it's kind of silly to have the "you must be a pervert" attitude, considering the number of MD's who practice obstetrics and gynecology. I think a male CNM is just fine, although you have to accept the fact that you may not be met with great enthusiasm wherever you go.

My uncle pursued lay/professional midwifery back in the early 90's, but ended up dropping out of the program due to the cold reception he received. He did assist in a few deliveries (including the birth of his own son at home), but apparently the majority of the women who chose to deliver with a midwife preferred a female. He is now a PA in the ER.

Good luck!

[Selke]

This subject comes up regularly on perinatal listservs: male L&D RNs and CNMs. People don't object to male OBs, right? So why do male RNs have such a hard time getting hired in L&D? There are male CNMs out there, you're not alone! Here is a resource for you. Check out the Perinatal listserv:

All Perinatal List DIRECTIONS at: listserv.buffalo.edu

Perinatal List ARCHIVES: http://listserv.buffalo.edu/archives/pnatalrn.html

You can search the archives for "male OB nurses" and such like. Subscribing would be a great idea. There are a couple of male CNMs who post there and you will find their names and could either start a thread or email them directly. They'd probably love to connect with you. Good luck in your endeavor.

[mommy2boysaz]

I actually just returned today from a High Risk Obstetrics Seminar that was given by a male CNM. I must admit, I was surprised at first, but he seemed great. Very knowledgeable and seemed every bit as "into" childbirth and all that goes along with it, as any female CNM I've ever known.

I say, go for it! Good Luck!

[wayunderpaid]

OP,

The director of the UPenn Midwifery program is a male (program ranked as one of the best, whatever that means). He is a CNM and has a PhD as well. I also personally know a male WHNP who provides services in the prison system.

I agree with other posts above. Why should gender be an issue? There are many OB/GYN physicians who are males. For that matter, there are also both female urologists and nurses, who see mostly males.

I can understand that patient preferences are different than professional gender bias. E.g. I can accept that a patient may have a preference and a choice of genders when deciding who is going to care for them (in primary care), but I can't accept that a unit manager would look down upon a male who wants to work OB. Similarly, in a hospital setting, patient preferences can sometimes play a role in assignments (it would be smart to have a female nurse/np perform a sexual assault assessment on a female, vs a male, if available), but most times it should not be.

In a teaching hospital, patients are often seen by residents and gender can vary depending who is on call. The same is true for nurses.

My advice to the OP is to stick to your guns and don't let others discourage you from providing good clinical care. Gender bias and barriers are broken when people like you fight for them. As for me, I am just interested in my wife when it comes to GYN

wayunderpaid

[eager1hasbegun]

I haven't personally known any male CNM's, but I know that they are out there (I know that there is one currently practicing in the Pittsburgh area--I believe he went to Frontier).

I worked for Patrick briefly doing some office work. His practice is awesome, very busy. He had many gynie patients as well as OB ones. I just loved the way he ran things...if I go into midwifery, it's what I would want in a practice. Every visit involves a meeting in a "guest room" where he just talks with his patients (who often bring their significant other or kids) about questions, concerns, life, etc. before going into the exam room. He's pretty popular--most people in the birthing biz have heard of or met him. I've also referred women to him with no wierd questions. Check out his website at www.mrmidwife.org (he's a pretty busy guy, so I don't think he's updated it recently)

Elise

[harvestmoon, RN]

I can speak from the patient's POV; I have had 3 homebirths with two different DEMs. I would have had a very hard time considering a male. I want female energy around me while birthing, I want female experience (having gone through the experience) and trust in the body's birthing process. I would find it incredibly difficult to find a man who would trust a woman enough to listen to her body. They must be out there, but they are few and far between.

[clhRN2b2010]

I had three natural, intervention free birth center births. The last was attended by one of the 3 MW's who staff the center and who happens to be a male. In all honesty, he was very capable, kept out of my business and my face while I was laboring (which I really liked) and I had a very smooth birth. I didn't feel that the female attended births were any more or less anything because they were female and he was male. I'm so into my own world during labor anyway, I just needed him to keep interuptions minimal and be there in case we needed him. He was great!

Having said that, I do prefer the female MW's when I go for my regular GYN stuff. I just feel odd discussing some of the things we discuss, sexual relations and male/female dynamics, discharge or lack thereof, et cet. with another person who has a yoni.