WHO not IT

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Specializes in cardiac, ortho, med-surg.

i must admit first that i am not starting a roe v. wade argument here. i want to be very clear about that. what i want to know, is why we nurses and the ob/gyn's all refer to babies as "it". when i was pregnant with my 3 kids, they were all referred to as "who". "who" am i having not "what" am i having. people looked at me with very perplexed expressions. is there a reason for this semantic? is it a way to depersonalize the pregnancy if complications arise? again, i am not trying to start any wars here, the psychology is confusing to me. has anyone ever had this brought up in training? i'm just curious. thank you ahead of time for keeping this from being an argumentative thread.:specs:

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Specializes in ICU/ER.

I think it is a generic- neutral saying. You dont want to say "his heart beat is XYZ" implying boy. Or "their heart rate is XYZ"--could imply multiple.

So they says "its heart rate is XYZ"

Yes I agree maybe the unborn should be refered to as "little one" or just simply "baby". But I think it is just habit/generic statement.

I had 4 and honest to God, I cant tell you what my Dr/Nurse called them..I think it was "it", but ya know what, thinking back I may have said that myself as well. "Does the baby kick alot?"...."Yes it keeps me up all night"...."Wow your getting big"..."yes and its probably got a big head!!"

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Specializes in ER.

I don't think it is an attempt to depersonalize anything, I think it is just because you don't know if the baby is male or female. "It" is gender neutral. I don't remember what I called mine, but a friend of mine called hers "sprout" until they learned the babies gender.

I think "it" or "my baby" were used interchangably until I knew gender. Don't be too hard on folks who may insult you without meaning to.

As far as "who", I consider the "who" after I know who they are, what their personality is. At first they are a baby, then male or female, then who, once I get to meet them! I think if I was 5 months pregnant and someone pointed at my belly and said, "who are you having" or "who is in there" I would have thought they were crazy. Just one Mom's opinion.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I guess I just don't think its a big deal: I agree with others who have posted that it would seem strange (to me at least) to point to my belly and ask "who is it?" lol

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Specializes in cardiac, ortho, med-surg.

"sprout"! that's cute! i am not offended by those who are "it" people. i was just curious about the term. my son used to shove his foot under my ribs and mash my heart, and once he kicked my stomach so i aspirated acid. woke up rather rudely that night! those times i just called him "kid"! :chuckle

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Um, most of the Ob/Gyns and nurses I work with don't call any baby 'it.' A few yes, but not most. And probably most of the ones that do use the term either a) use it accidentally; b) when nobody knows if baby is a boy or a girl; or c) have forgotten if baby is a boy or girl, which we human beings do. I've never heard it used in any other context, and for the record, I don't. But I really don't think it is a big deal.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I too wish people would say "the baby's heartrate is xyz" instead of "it's". Kind of bugs me.

People do it in adult care. Charge Nurse (Me) speakign to nurse: You're getting an admission in 533-2. Nurse: What is it? Me: It is not an it but a human being injured in a motorcycle accident. That's always bugged me that 99% of the the time when I tell someone their getting a patient they answer "what is it?",

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Specializes in cardiac, ortho, med-surg.
i too wish people would say "the baby's heartrate is xyz" instead of "it's". kind of bugs me.

people do it in adult care. charge nurse (me) speakign to nurse: you're getting an admission in 533-2. nurse: what is it? me: it is not an it but a human being injured in a motorcycle accident. that's always bugged me that 99% of the the time when i tell someone their getting a patient they answer "what is it?",

you bring up a very good point...this one is "the knee" or "it's going to cath lab..." i guess these terms are used from day one and are used out of habit. it seems incongruous with our profession to care that these terms are used so freely. thank you for your post!:specs:

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Specializes in Adult Stem Cell/Oncology.

I always just ask, "Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?" or "Can you feel the baby kicking yet?" etc...

I've never been pregnant, but if someone were to ask me, "What are you having?" or "Do you know what it is yet?" I'd probably come back with a sarcastic response like, "I'm pretty sure I'm having a human....of the infant variety!" :D

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

When people asked me what I was having or if I knew what it was, I'd say, "A baby," and keep on going.

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Specializes in L&D, Antepartum, Postpartum, MB, Special.

I think that the "what is it" in the report is referring to the affliction not the person. The use of room numbers and "it" could be a result of HIPPA laws. Just a possibility.

As for the baby, I think it is a little over the edge to get upset about this. I personally call "it" my it's name if the parents have one or baby if not.

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Specializes in OB/Gyn.

I personally don't think I have ever referred to the unborn as "it". As some of the others have said, I always ask if Mom/Dad know what they're having and refer to the baby as "he" or "she" If gender is unknown, I'll often just say "baby" or "little one" or some silly name like "peanut". I worked with an OB once that always referred to the baby as "your little darlin"! Not that I find it particularly offensive, but there are many alternatives to "it". I do think it would be kind of weird to say "who are you having" though!!

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