Should Male Nurse Work In L&D?

I've been a nurse about a year and work on a psychiatric unit. I thought this specialty was for me but now I don't think so. In school I really enjoyed L&D and women's health, I even did my preceptorship in school in L&D. I feel I would enjoy working in one of those areas but as a male I would feel out of place. Should I switch units ? Would patients be uncomfortable with a male nurse in these settings?

Specializes in Emergency Room, CEN, TCRN.

I had to do like two days in a L&D unit in nursing school, it felt like 1/2 and 1/2 families were either cool with me being there and helping or asked me to stand in the corner so I couldn't see their loved one's lady parts. Honestly, it didn't bother me at all because I had no desire to work in L&D. I think our entire maternal/child, pediatrics, and NICU are 100% staffed with females at my hospital. 

Quote

But the fact that you mention what would make you comfortable for your daughter just suggests that you don't like the thought of male L&D nurses.

I admit I don't like male L & D nurses. Not even trying to hide it.

When you come into the hospital in the middle of labor, you need to feel emotionally safe. I would not feel that way with a male nurse. It's that simple. I'd want a woman.  

When I was looking for my own OB, I had several Drs in each group practice that were both male and female that I liked - and knew them personally from working together. If there had been one Dr I was uncomfortable  with, I would've picked a different practice.  

As you pointed out, I agree this was easy to do since I did not live in an isolated area.  If you live in the middle of nowhere, you may be used to not having choices.  That's one reason why I like to live near or in a major city.  In my hometown it used to take until March to have a New Years baby.    No way would I ever live there.  

I want choices. To each their own.   

FWIW, I have no desire to work in a urology office. There's a million different areas in nursing. I prefer to work in those areas where patients are going to feel most comfortable with me. 

In a perfect world, if a male labor nurse made a patient uncomfortable, you could just ask a coworker to switch assignments.

1 hour ago, beachynurse said:

I find this absolute rejection of male nurses in Ob to be a sexist and discriminatory one. You won’t accept a male nurse, but you will accept a male MD to deliver. Hmmmm. 

Yep. That’s what I said. “Sexist and discriminatory?” Fine. It doesn’t change how I feel about it  

I also said I’d only accept a male OB that I already knew, felt safe with, had a relationship with. (Assuming I was given a choice and didn’t live in the middle of nowhere.  Which is why I don’t)  

I don’t understand the outrage, and I suspect if you are outraged by this you have not had a baby, or have never seen what a labouring mom goes through, or you are not a woman, or you have been lucky enough to never felt unsafe at the hands of a man.  Consider yourself lucky.  

Again, what is being done is highly intimate when you are feeling your most vulnerable. I want women, myself included, to feel empowered and emotionally safe. That doesn’t happen when you walk in, scared and in pain, and have to get a vag exam by a total stranger, no matter how “professional” he is. 

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
2 minutes ago, kdkout said:

I don’t understand the outrage, and I suspect if you are outraged by this you have not had a baby, or have never seen what a labouring mom goes through, or you are not a woman, or you have been lucky enough to never felt unsafe at the hands of a man.  Consider yourself lucky.  

I am a survivor of years of childhood abuse. I have felt unsafe at the hands of a man too many times to count. I find the "okay with a male OB but not a male RN" to be a double standard. Can I understand why a woman would turn down male care providers? Absolutely. Do I think that should be extended to hiring practices and assumptions about others' preferences? Absolutely not.

Quote

I also said I’d only accept a male OB that I already knew, felt safe with, had a relationship with. (Assuming I was given a choice and didn’t live in the middle of nowhere.  Which is why I don’t)  

Don't assume not living in the middle of nowhere means you get a choice. I live in a metro area about an hour drive from 2 very large metro areas. You get whoever is on call, whether you've been seen by them or not, whether male or female.

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
17 hours ago, beachynurse said:

I find this absolute rejection of male nurses in Ob to be a sexist and discriminatory one. You won’t accept a male nurse, but you will accept a male MD to deliver. Hmmmm. 

In some cases, a woman doesn't have an option to have a female OB deliver her baby.

Anyway, I am on the fence about this issue. While I don't have a problem with male nurses seeking employment in LD, I think that given how common it is for women and their spouses to request a female nurse only, it may not be the most ideal place for a male nurse. I personally worked in HROB/LD and we had exactly one male nurse in a sea of hundreds of nurses. We also have a very high religious population who would not want this male nurse to care for them even though he had years of experience. 

I think it would take a certain kind of male nurse to work in LD. One who doesn't try to mansplain to his patient, one that doesn't give off vibes that make women uncomfortable,  and one who is in the antithesis of the toxic male culture that runs rampant in American society. Usually,  from my personal observation,  the men who typically meet those standards are gay.

I worked on in LDRP where we had one male L and D nurse and two postpartum male nurses. One night I ended up with all the patients because not one woman wanted a male nurse.

That said, it really depends on your clientele. I personally think it's not a great idea. If I was a male provider, I surely would have a female in the room any time I got near any private area. Nurses don't have that option. So even if you have women who would not be terribly uncomfortable with a male nurse, I would also be thinking about protecting yourself in such a litigious and super sensitive environment. Plus, I have kids. I would never have felt comfortable with a male nurse and I had male OBs. It's just different. 

I once went into a patient room with my male nurse preceptor. I was explaining something about breastfeeding and he said "I never knew that!” I know that not all OB nurses have kids, but having life experience sure helps.

10 hours ago, ThePrincessBride said:

I think it would take a certain kind of male nurse to work in LD. One who doesn't try to mansplain to his patient, one that doesn't give off vibes that make women uncomfortable,  and one who is in the antithesis of the toxic male culture that runs rampant in American society. Usually,  from my personal observation,  the men who typically meet those standards are gay.

Just musing here--no one wants someone who is truly the kind of person you describe, the problem is it's all so subjective. I mean, I explain things all day long, sometimes in very simple terms PRN, but that will never be "mansplaining" because I'm not a man. You know?

And isn't the guy working as a nurse already somewhat likely to not be what you describe? After all, they've chosen to work in a profession where they still might be mocked for doing so on any given day. I say that almost by definition they've already made at least one choice that would suggest they aren't who you're talking about.

 

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

I saw my first baby born in March 1983 as an LPN student and I still remember his name. I figured if I ever met him again, I would violate HIPAA, which didn't exist in those days, and say, "I saw you born!"

Working as a scrub in the OR in '86 & '87, I assisted in LOTS of C-sections.  I even got to clamp the cords of newborn twins. In the late 80's, I was friends with the OB docs & nurses and they let me stand in sometimes with the natural childbirths if the mother consented.

Every single birth was an exhilarating experience that I never ever tired of. However, I never wanted children and can trace my feelings back to my childhood, which was a very good one. I had a vasectomy before I got married the first time and have not regretted my decision one bit.

With that said, the FCC advocates for equal airtime, and although I truly enjoyed every birthing process in which I was involved, I personally and professionally never wanted to work in L&D.

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

Interesting answers here. Polite discussion of topics with a potential to trigger is always appreciated.  I have been hospitalized or in the ER more times than I like. I have had both male and female nurses provide intimate care and all of them were professional. However women can say some really vicious things. Like commenting on how dirty a female's perineum was or size of a male's testicles or wee-wee. So the opinion that female nurses are more empathic than males is not always the case, 

When I gave birth to the man cub it was  by emergency  C-section and the entire team was male. I was so worried about how the MC was doing I could've care less about who put in my foley.

If the op really wants to do L&D I suggest that he look into critically underserved areas or Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

If we are truly moving toward a world that recognizes all genders and affords equality both inside and outside the workplace then we nurses who are recognized as the most trustworthy profession then must help carry the banner. 

Hppy

PS.  I know the person who said this was probably using this to prove a point but I find the opinion that many male nurses are gay demeaning and insulting to the many cisgender nurses I have known.

Specializes in Dialysis.

In the military, all of my nurses during the births of both of my sons were male, except the CNMs. Aftercare were males, even the lactation specialists who told me that it was my fault that I had no milk production beyond the initial feed for both. Sadly, I didn't get a choice...

Specializes in School Nursing.
On 7/1/2022 at 11:37 AM, toomuchbaloney said:

 The hospital who is respecting the emotional needs of the birthing patient is going to get sued for simply reassigning a male nurse?  The request of the patient is the only reason they need to show.  Is themale nurse then going to legally harass that woman (because sumthin sumthin his rights) or just contend that he's an injured party because his wants weren't elevated over the woman's?  This diminishing of women's rights and autonomy and value in our attitudes and actions is getting tedious. Yeah we are aware that our laws and their interpretation is a portion of that tedium.  IMV

Maybe you haven't noticed that as women are allowed into medical schools there are more and more women practicing OB/GYN. Perhaps you've missed that many women choose female midwives when they have limited choices among male OB/GYN monopolies in the field. Women having male doctors in [insert specialty] because there aren't other good alternatives is historical reality in this country. 

This is where the hospital needs to walk a tightrope. They need to make sure that they don't violate the nurse's rights, and also ensure that they meet the patients needs. Personally, I do not associate this with women's rights, and as the male nurse is a professional, I simply can't see him going to harass the patient. That actually sounds childish, and totally unprofessional to me. That kind of behavior should and would lead to discipline. 

Yes, women are matriculating into medical schools. I do not like the term allowed that sounds ingratiating, and demeaning to me. As women, we don't have to beg for anything. We can perform just as well as men in any career choice, so no doors should be closed. 

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
beachynurse said:

This is where the hospital needs to walk a tightrope. They need to make sure that they don't violate the nurse's rights, and also ensure that they meet the patients needs. Personally, I do not associate this with women's rights, and as the male nurse is a professional, I simply can't see him going to harass the patient. That actually sounds childish, and totally unprofessional to me. That kind of behavior should and would lead to discipline. 

Yes, women are matriculating into medical schools. I do not like the term allowed that sounds ingratiating, and demeaning to me. As women, we don't have to beg for anything. We can perform just as well as men in any career choice, so no doors should be closed. 

Does the nurse have a right to a specific assignment, regardless of the patient's preference? That seems to be his contention. The nurse has been harmed in no way. 

+ Join the Discussion