I'm a Man, Can I be Successful as An OB Nurse

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I'm a man who is changing careers to nursing. I'm married and have kids. I thought I wanted to do something like ED nursing, because it is "action packed." I'm in the middle of my OB class, and I love it.

I love having kids. I think babies are amazing. I really want to go for an OB job. I've read some older threads - some from over a decade ago - but I'm wondering how it is these days.

On paper, there's no reason I'm not qualified. I'm in the top 5% of my class and have excellent clinical reviews. Also, I have great rapport with patients. During clinicals, I've been put with difficult patients because I'm good with them.

I'm not just interested in getting the job, because I suspect that I'd get hired just to prove that they weren't discriminating. My question is whether I can succeed on a labor and delivery floor or will there be barriers that a ?

Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.
There are many women who feel that way ....no doubt. And yet, they often have male doctors.

This is true. But most women make sure that they are 'prepared' to see the doctor before the doctor makes rounds. Male or female physician, they ask the nurse about the amount of bleeding instead of checking for themselves.;)

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All true, just not entirely logical...

Whether it's logical or not isn't important.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

All the above is true. But let me share my experience. When I had my 2nd child, I became acquainted with an OB nurse who happened to be male. (yes I chose those words carefully). He was FABULOUS, just amazing. I had a lot of preterm labor and problems, so I saw him often when admitted----many times before I finally had my c-section. He was gentle, respectful, professional and just so caring and warm. It was a military hospital and he was an Air Force captain. Of all the nurses involved in my care, he was a standout. I loved how comfortable he was in his skin, being an OB nurse. It did not seem to faze him and it did not faze me. Anyhow, that I remember him 17 years later, tells you something.

I also worked with 2 male nurses as an OB nurse. Same thing. Respectful, going above and beyond to bring professional and compassionate care to the women and babies in their charge. I loved working side by side with them. They were some of the best colleagues I had. No drama, no issues and very comfortable with who they were and their chosen career paths.

Yes, there are barriers. A number of women (and their spouses/significant others) do NOT want a male nurse involved in such intimate care. These folks KNOW their doctors, most often, and having some sort of established months-long relationship, the male OBs are acceptable to them.

Often, it's the fathers who have a real issue, (with the notion of having a male nurse)---- not the moms. You will have to be able to work with this and back off if you are rejected as a nurse, able to not take it personally. But there will be many other women who won't mind, because as said above, they have male doctors. And the doctor delivering a baby is most often NOT the doctor of the woman's choice, the one she saw all through pregnancy. Because OB is 24/7, doctors on call are the ones who deliver the babies. Women accept this and understand it.

The few who cannot accept a male OB nurse are usually objecting due to religious or cultural reasons. There will also always be a handful who had been victimized sexually by males who could/would not have ANY man involved in their care. I saw that at times and we always honored this situation, as did the OB practices caring for them. Often, a female OB would come in specially to deliver their babies. I would be very aware of the religious and cultural population of the area in which you plan to work; if there are, say, many Muslim families, you can plan on not being allowed to be involved in the care of a lot of people. Know who you will be caring for.

Those women and families with the above issues won't even allow you in their rooms to do something as benign as deliver their food trays in some cases. I had families who even balked at having a male pediatrician caring for their kids and if they were allowed to examine the newborns, it was with the understanding it would be done in the nursery, away from the postpartum women.

So I say, if this is truly your passion, you might want to go for it. But if you do not want to deal with rejection and colleagues who may have a problem with a male OB nurse, (at least til they get to know you)----- then I suggest you do what said above, go for NICU and get the baby fix there. OB (and, by the way, NICU) is about caring for FAMILIES, not just babies, meaning moms, and fathers. (and other family as well). Some just are not going to accept you, no matter how good you are. The families are the ones who will remember you, one way or another. They will be an integral part of your care planning.

Hope this helps.

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When I did my OB rotation I had a very positive experience. The hospital I was at was one of the top academic hospitals in my state and only did high risk pregnancies and the patients were told students and residents would be active in their care beforehand. I assisted in the care and delivery of probably four or five cases ranging from teen to almost 40. I was never asked to leave or anything and all of patients, fathers and other family didnt seem to care at all. I know this is a very small sample size and if I stayed there longer I would have ran into an issue eventually but it turned out a lot better than I expected. Oh, and there was one male RN that worked on the floor and all his patients seemed to love him. If that area is where you want to work then I think you should go for it, in the end you will end up with many more positive experiences than negative ones.

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Go for it! I have met several OB RN's who are guys. I know a traveller who is an OB RN and he is top notch! One of my mentors was a male PEDS RN. I had a guy in my RN to BSN class who was a NICU nurse. Years ago I worked with a man in L&D. Many of our teens really appreciated him. They often did not have experiences with men who treated them respectfully. We need more men in OB and PEDs.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

We have 6 guys in our L/D and there have never been any problems. The only time a female is assigned over a male is for religious purposes.

All three of my deliveries I had guys and I didn't think twice about it. All the girls I work with ask if they are there when they go in to deliver.

Go for it! And really NICU is great too 😏

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Specializes in ICU.

I definitely would prefer a female nurse if I were having a baby, especially in post-partum. The doctor may well be a male, but the doctor isn't the one who would be cleaning me up, changing pads, etc., and all the after-birth care. I had two emergency C-sections, got a staph infection from the surgery, and was too ill to do my own bath/hygiene, etc. Personally, I would find it easier to discuss issues surrounding birth with a female. As for labor, I don't remember my doctor doing anything except the actual C-section; the OB nurses did just about everything else.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Moved to the OB Nursing forum...

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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.

I've always felt like in order to examine me and my lady parts, you need to have one yourself. You may encounter that a bit, but I don't know how much. Just my two cents, I certainly don't think theres any reason why you couldn't be successful, I just think it will be harder for you.

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Specializes in Vascular Access.

If you think you can make it work... go for it. Where I'm at, I don't see it working. When I had my OB rotation in nursing school I was promptly shunned to a corner of the nurses station. I can see those women not feeling comfortable with a man nurse. I don't like it, I don't think it should be that way, but that's the way it is. And I respect that for the patients sake.

I wouldn't want to put myself in a position that could potentially lead to legal action. With the private assessments that need to be done I can see how some women might file claims of sexual assault. Warranted or not. My career and livelihood is far more important than the risk to lose it all. There are many options available to nurses.... I'd stay farthest away from this one.

Just out of curiosity though, I wonder how many nurses out there who are men and gay work in OB?

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As others have said, it may depend on where you are working. If you are in a small unit/hospital, it may be an issue. I personally would prefer an OB nurse to be female, BUT if the male nurse had a good personality and was able to put me at ease, then it would be totally fine. I chose an OBGYN practice with only female physicians because I feel they can relate to female issues - not saying a male can't be an amazing OBGYN, but I prefer female providers for this dept.

It's not impossible, but there are just more barriers due to your gender. That being said, if you feel this is where your heart really is, then go for it!

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

Just from my experiences in L&D and post-partum clinicals, I think most people will be OK with you, but you'll likely run across a few women who won't want a male nurse.

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