Pregnancy & Home Health Nursing

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Hi everyone!

I'm expecting my first baby in late November of this year. As part of my case management position, I do home visits to help people living with HIV sort out their medications, monitor adherence, and assess needs based on their home environment. This makes up roughly 25% of my productive time. Many of my patients live in rough neighborhoods and their homes are less than maintained.

I have my performance evaluation coming up and I'd like to use this time to discuss my needs as my pregnancy comes to an end with my supervisor. My initial thought is that I should stop doing home visits at 36 weeks for my safety. I'll be big and clumsier than usual in addition to less able to defend myself if something should happen.

What are your thoughts, do you do anything different for your staff that are pregnant?

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I worked as a visit nurse (not case management) while pregnant right up until I went into labor. I only did visits during the day. To add icing to the cake, i had also gotten a needle stick injury (thank goodness nothing came of it). Some of the neighborhoods I went into were sketchy. Do it based on your comfort level, afterall it's your baby and your life. However I'd be more worried about contracting something than getting assaulted or whatever. Do you qualify for FMLA? If you live in a right to work state, they can terminate you for any reason...they don't have to say it was due to pregnancy but if you refuse to see certain patients, they can make a case out of it. Just food for thought.

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Specializes in NCSN.

I was in a similar position, I did case management visits for homes serving those of ID/DDs. When I was pregnant with my first, my supervisor and I had arranged that after 30 weeks I would not be seeing the clients with violent tendencies or that needed assessments that required lifting/rolling.

Little did we know that at 20 weeks I would have to have emergency surgery and be put on bedrest the rest of pregnancy.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

My wife is a HH PT...She worked until she couldn't with all 4 of her pregnancies. I recall her telling me a story about one of her patients offering to help her get off the floor during one of her late in gestation visits.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Years ago...years as in 30+, I worked in home health. I was pregnant with my first baby. I went to the client's house...lovely old guy who had had a CVA. I filled his med boxes for him and then tried to help him get on his exercise bike. He said "Oh no, Mermaid. You're TOO pregnant. I can do it myself." Too pregnant was 6 months along. You need to do what's right for you and your baby.

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Specializes in Home Health.

My thoughts have always been "pregnancy is not a disability." If my employee came to me with this, I would be irritated.

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