Hey with some of the negative OB stories here I just wanted to chime in with my experience. OB was my best rotation so far! I think that more guys should go into OB with an open mind.
There are definitely a few factors that will help a male student have a successful rotation. First, a clinical instructor that will advocate for you with the nurses (if you dont have this talk with your instructor). Two, a positive attitude and willingness to get involved on your rotation. I had one nurse go into the room and ask the pt "do you want a male student" in a way that made the pt. feel like she should refuse my care. This only happened one time. All of the other nurses were awesome and treated me like any other healthcare provider! The moms dads were all comfortable with me caring for them and their baby. The nurses remarked that I seemed comfortable and ready to helped out any way I could compared to many of the male paramedic and nursing students who just sat at the nurses station and didn't want to do anything because they didn't plan on working OB. Try this: come into the room- "Hey I'm BarleynHops a nursing student, I have your fentanyl mind of I come in?" No but seriously, pts can tell if you are putting off an attitude that you dont want to be there.
By the end of the rotation I had seen 3 births and 1 C/S, done IV push medications, mom & baby IMs, done assessments, discharge teaching, baby baths, all the charting, Foley Cath insertion, and had a pt of my own for the last 2 days of MBU.
I had a nurse recommend that I go for NICU and another suggest that I consider their unit when I graduate. Even though I want to go into ED I made some great connections on the unit and grew a lot as a student nurse. Who knows maybe NICU would be interesting someday.