Men in L&D

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2009

Ha! A friend of mine is starting his career as an OB nurse next month! There seems to be a lot of shrugged shoulders and "so whats" going around regarding the topic. No one seems to care much that he is a guy doing L&D.

Personally, I think he is really cute when gets around all those pregnant mommies and new babies. :nuke:

MissBrahmsRN · Dec 9, 2009

no rhyme or reason but yep life as a male nurse can be a trip and it's not always the patients.

this is something i see alot, it's sexist to not hire a woman because she's a female but it's not sexist to not hire a man because he's male. i think in society (and the nursing profession) we should strive to eliminate sexism in all forms, not just against women. my son has a male preschool teacher & he does a fine job yet he went thru 5 different schools before he was hired because "we don't hire men, they aren't good with children." :eek: if they said that to a woman there would be a lawsuit pdq that's for sure...

rbytsdy · Dec 10, 2009

I was just talking with a friend who is about to start his L&D clinical. He joked about how much he was going to sit around since no one wants a male L&D nurse. I looked at him funny and said that if I had the choice between some 20 year old female nursing student who never had a kid and a 40-something year old male nursing student who was there for his own kids birth, I'd go with the guy. My 1st birth was a c-section anyway - who the heck cares whether my nurse was male or female. With my 2nd birth (lady partsl), I had a doula to support me so I really only needed my nurse for clinical stuff anyway. In fact, I think a male nurse who has been through birth with his own wife would have been great support for my dh.

That's just my opinion of course but I'd say go for it.

Wile E Coyote, ASN, RN · Dec 10, 2009

Very encouraging to see the attitudes shared here. Unfortunately, my experience during my OB rotation was not so rosy. I found one pt and one pt only that was receptive to my participating in her labor. She ended up delivering during my post-conference that evening. I checked a fundus or two, and that's the extent of my hands-on with L&D.

With my clinical instructors I never saw overt prejudice, but the tone was unmistakable. Meh, I was not going to let anything stand in my way, not even some uptight narrow-minded old dinosaurs.

Neveranurseagain, RN · Dec 10, 2009

OK, I see the writing on the wall--I'm about to get shot down, LOL!

I personally would not want a male nurse as my primary OB nurse. I feel birthing is a woman thing, and the support given during labor can be very intimate. I prefer to share this with a woman, kinda a Sister of the Ya Ya Sisterhood type of thing. But to each their own, and with many women it would not be an issue at all.

Would I support a male working on the OB floor as a coworker? Yep! But let me pick a female nurse during birth.

shiccy · Dec 10, 2009

CaLLaCoDe: I do the same with inserting foley's, and make sure to chart in my long notes with second RN present. I've never had somebody uncomfortable enough to refuse things with me, but many times foleys are placed prior to admit to our unit.

...

C-Y-A for sure!

I don't think I could ever imagine being in L&D. While I'm sure definitely not boring, I can't handle people screaming in my ears, and I'm not super fond of children, so ... not the best field for me! Good luck to yourself, though!

jmtndl · Dec 10, 2009

I enjoyed my rotation in school playing with babies and stuff, that was the extent of it. I was well received by the staff and patients though. Overall, no thanks...
"No tots, no twats"

why no mrn in L&D?? There you go!:angryfire

jmtndl · Dec 10, 2009

I mant men...was just blinded by the "twat" quotation!

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Dec 10, 2009

Everybody has their own level of comfort, and the only thing that bothers me is inconsistency - that is to say, being okay with a male OB but not a male nurse. That's what bothers me. Personally, I don't (and wouldn't) care who my nurse is, as long as they are competent and caring.

I see and respect awsmfun's point - because she's not advocating men not be a part of the field, just stating her own level of comfort which she is absolutely within her rights to do.

Bottom line - if you want to be an OB nurse, go for it. You may have to knock on several doors before one opens, but by all means, knock!

danamobile · Dec 10, 2009

Very good point, I never thought about the 'exam with someone present'-- I think that's BS anyway. I mean, you don't know what's really going on under the drapes (No pun intended)!!! If there is a will, there is a way to do what negligent people do. Professionalism should count for something!!

Captslack · Dec 10, 2009

I am really happy to hear all of these opinions. It all has me looking forward to seeing if L&D is something I can do. I feel I am good at making people at ease in stress full situations and that I might be good at it. My wife only shot it down as a suggestion that I wouldn't be very accepted as a male Nurse in that field. I have a long way to go and plenty of time to figure it out. I am very unsure as to how it all works. Is that a sought after line of work as an RN? I would imagine an RN fresh out of school won't have a ton of options the first few years. Is that how it goes?? I am very excited about Nursing and currently work at the space center in Florida. I don't care for what I do and am looking forward to working at a job that I can feel as though I am really doing something good for people. I am a little scared because as soon as I commit to a program I will be full time student and our savings will dwindle fast. SCARY!!!

bogchi2000 · Dec 10, 2009

I worked in labor and Delivery in the Philippines before. And The Gyne and Dr.s says actually a man is also a good help in L and D. I was one of the good pusher whn labor comes specially whn they reached the transition period. And after delivery the mother will look at me say THANK you... and I can feel the way they say thank you to me. It's like a big reliefe to them..