Risks of school nursing while pregnant?

[BeSweet]

Hi all,

I just recently found out I am pregnant, and am a little worried working with school age children. I am an elementary school nurse (and a bit of a hypochondriac!).

I am immune to MMR and varicella, but I am more worried about the kids with fevers, as this could be caused by illnesses like Fifth's disease, which can cause miscarriage. I don't plan to return to work next school year, so I am wondering if it is worth it for me to even finish this school year. Although my husband and I could really use the money.

I guess I am just looking for some advice or reassurances that I am being overly paranoid. Thanks so much!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I think you are being paranoid. If you practice good hand washing technique, and universal precautions, you should be fine. I was a nurse in an Emergency Department for both of my pregnancies with a HUGE pedi population. Many many nurses have worked while pregnant and have been fine. It's natural to be worried and freaked out....we as nurses sometimes know a little too much. This an example of ignorance would be bliss!

Congratulations!!:yelclap: on your comming attraction and my prayers for an uneventful pregnancy and delivery of a healthy baby:hug:

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

if you've been an elementary school nurse for any decent length of time, you've probably already been exposed. Make sure your doc know what your job is and they will do a blood test to check your your immunity.

When i was pregnant, my titer level was off the charts. No worries there!

[BeSweet]

Thanks y'all! This is my first year school nursing, but your right that I have probably already been exposed. This is also my first pregnancy after struggling with infertility, so my fear is in overdrive! :)

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Congrats on your pregnancy! I would certainly not think it paranoid to test and see if you have immunity to Fifths, and like others say you probably do. Universal precautions, maybe wear a mask if it makes you feel better and you have a cougher in your office waiting for pickup. Not only have thousands of school nurses had sucessful pregnancies, but think of all the teachers with those sick little kiddies in their classrooms who have also had healthy babies. The deck is stacked in your favor :) Best of luck!

[Nurse ABC]

Congratulations! I had two successful pregnancies while being a school nurse and being constantly exposed to all kinds of things on a regular basis. I decided to quit school nursing to stay home and take care of my kids. I contracted Fifth's Disease during my third pregnancy when I wasn't working anymore and I passed it onto my own kids so we don't know where I got it from. The rash started on a Friday afternoon after my dr was out of her office and she told me to go to the ER. The ER doctor told me I didn't have that-I had some other weird rash that wouldn't harm my baby. My daughter's KG teacher said it looked like Fifth Disease to her a few days later so I kept having this nagging doubt and when I went back for my regular check-up with my dr she ran a blood test and it was postive. I have no idea why they didn't just run that test in the ER! I had to undergo routine ultrasounds through a high risk OB out of town to check for complications until my third trimester. Thankfully everything turned out fine. I was the first case of Fifth Disease my own local OB doctor had ever had so it's not as common to get during pregnancy as I thought. Then my baby got it when he was a few months old which suprised me since I thought maybe he'd have immunity from it. The point is to enjoy your pregnancy and don't worry about what you don't have or might get or you'll drive yourself crazy!