Safety for Pregnant OR Nurses

Specialties Operating Room

Published

I just found out that I'm 5 weeks pregnant. Has anyone been through a pregnancy while working in the OR? I don't have the luxury of moving to another unit, as my job has a call requirement.I'm actually paranoid and scared. This is my second pregnancy- the first ended in m/c at 12 weeks.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Speak with your doctor. He or she is the one to best tell you what you can and can't safely do. Also follow your facility's policies. We are required to notify the radiation safety officer in writing (can be an email) as soon as we know we are pregnant because radiation allowances are lower during pregnancy. Also, stay away from mixing bone cement. I've worked with many, many pregnant nurses and surg techs, and they were fine as long as they followed doctor recommendations and facility policy.

Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

I'm not a nurse. But, I have experienced infertility. I *think* you should find a way for your doctor to either write medical limitations or take you off of work if in any way strenuous (or regular) physical activity will in any way increase the chance of miscarriage.

I don't think most pregnancies are medical emergencies and think that physical activity is beneficial to most women.

BUT I also believe in listening to your body.

If your miscarriage was random then it's unlikely to happen again. Miscarriages are NOT uncommon. But, if you have had difficulty getting pregnant or had preterm labor or anything like that, I recommend you make adjustments.

If I had a job where I couldn't sit when I needed to or drink water as needed or listen to my body while pregnant, I'd quit. I did quit a job during my last pregnancy because I kept getting shortness of breath and my doctor kept saying it was normal.

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