pregnancy don'ts

Nurses General Nursing

Published

If anyone will, please refresh my memory, it's been a long time since this debate has occured where I work:

What patients are pregnant nurses NOT supposed to interact with?

Thanks bunches!!!!!!!!!

Since no one answered yet, I'll tell you what I know.

Generally if you can stay away from Peds it's good, but if not, you must stay away from the Measles I believe (and probably Mumps and Rubella as well). Anything you are NOT immune to is included. I don't know which thing is worse in what trimester. Using a lot of common sense is helpful too. Anything communicable is probably a red flag though. But we don't always know status until too late.

Be careful for toxoplasmosis if you have a cat.

That's all I know.

Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

Cytomegalovirus, if you're not already immune. Herpes, MRSA.

Where I work we don't have anyone who's pregnant care for pts with shingles even if they have had chicken pox themselves.

FYI: I once worked on a Peds unit where 1/3 the staff was perpetually pregnant. (Not the same people but new ones replacing those who left). They were informed by the hospital that they were expected to take any and all patient assignments using precautions appropriate to the situation.

You may want to check with your hospital as to what they will let you do.

This publication is not specifically aimed at HCW's but is interesting nonetheless. Try this link to the CDC website for a pdf file document:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/gbs/pregnancyinfections.pdf

Try this one, too

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/99-104.pdf

No radioactive implants obviously. Avoid x-ray machines. If possible I would avoid anyone on any type of isolation precautions (mrsa, cdiff, vre, tb, etc.) if possible, that is if there are adequate staff for you not to have to care for them. I would also avoid giving chemotherapy, if that is something you ever do.

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

These are the things we avoid at work....kids on antiviral for RSV, nitric oxide ventilation, any TORCH kids, chickenpox. Radiology obviously...and don't go in with your patient for an MRI if you can help it...it has the potential to damage the bones of the inner ear in a fetus.

Could someone please elaborate on what a TORCH child is? Thanks, and forgive me for not already knowing...

Originally posted by amy

Could someone please elaborate on what a TORCH child is? Thanks, and forgive me for not already knowing...

TORCH is an acronym for congenital infections and includes

TOXOPLAMOSIS; OTHER (varicella, herpes zoster, syphillis, parvovirus): RUBELLA; CMV; and HERPES;HEPATITIS and HIV. The problem is that some infections will be subclinical and you may never know or identify that you've been exposed. I believe many people are exposed to and have resistance to, for example, CMV but we just don't know. It is when you get exposed to CMV, are not resistant and are gestating that the problem occurs.

There is no absolute safety in this world.

May I add another question to this? What is a pregnant nurse not supposed to DO? I asked another nurse to help me pull a pt up in bed and she told me she couldn't because she is pregnant. Now, she is barely 4 weeks pregnant at this point. Is she (and all pregnant nurses, I guess) going to not be able to do ANY physical activity for the next nine months?

Laura

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