Nurses feel awkward asking patients if they’re pregnant
10 posts across 4 communities in the last 90 days; 70% from r/nursing.
“I'm a man who could get pregnant. You can't always tell by looking at us. Better to always ask than to miss one.”
“At what point is it protocol to ask if I'm pregnant to ensure maximum eye-rolling? Any followup comments to really make sure they understand how funny I am?”
“I mean, how can you say this when you never experienced life as a man? Ask any man if they ever been touched or had unwanted comments on their body and if they're comfortable enough they'd almost always say yes. The sad thing is, a man admitting to any form of sexual harassment…”
Several nurses express discomfort or find it ridiculous that protocols require them to ask male patients if they are pregnant, especially given the potential for misgendering and patient reactions. Some acknowledge the rule's purpose but still find it awkward, while others defend it as necessary for accurate care.
SOURCES (23)
“At what point is it protocol to ask if I'm pregnant to ensure maximum eye-rolling? Any followup comments to really make sure they understand how funny I am? submitted by /u/Taz-erton [link] [comments]”
“I mean, how can you say this when you never experienced life as a man? Ask any man if they ever been touched or had unwanted comments on their body and if they're comfortable enough they'd almost always say yes. The sad thing is, a man admitting to any form of sexual harassment they experienced will make them feel less like a man. Also it's not the victim Olympics, I won't argue the "who gets raped more" game”
“I don’t believe anyone was implying it was less bad because it’s a woman, I think she was just correcting the assumption made from most likely life experiences of male patients and males in the wild asking things like “I wonder if the curtains match the drapes”. I heard that question from more men than I should have before I was barely an adult. Regardless of the gender of the doctor this is beyond weird and wrong.”
“Well even especially that type of line of sexual harassment. I’ve genuinely just never heard a woman ask what color they are down there while I’ve unfortunately had many male patients or just men out and about shamelessly ask that question like it’s just a funny harmless joke. I assume we as women know how color variances are in those areas. So I’m not sure commenters are trying to be sexist as much ad just their frequent life experiences are leading to inherit biases that we all have. Doesn’t m”
“Think about the sheer number of vaginal bleeding, spotting, cramping, concern for baby, no concern for baby but thinking about concern, and so on they saved themselves from by purely deciding "nah" submitted by /u/FrijolesForever90210 [link] [comments]”
“I’m a labor and delivery nurse, and I’ve had MANY patients tell me “doctors told me I would NEVER be able to have children…and look, here I am!!!!”…unless you are born without a uterus, this is just something doctors DO NOT say…they usually say something along the lines of “it may be difficult to become pregnant/carry a pregnancy” or similar, but patients like to make it so DRAMATIC and like they defied the odds…very frustrating!!!”
“But if you're a 30 year old man, in the US, that opens up more opportunities for advancement for "being a Father," while a 30 year old woman, with children, get punished for "being a Mother," taking time off for childcare, appointments, etc.”
“Coming from the person that doesn’t understand basic human anatomy… yikes! 😬 men can’t give birth nor get pregnant. We can agree to disagree. Have a nice day.”
“Gonna suck for both of us when I show up to your ER in labor, with a full beard and M on my documents.”
“if she said they have to ask, i think it’s safe to assume she’s just following protocol”
“I've heard there are the following reasons: - humour - respect for people in transition - rigid systems (they just ask all questions without even look at you twice)”
“Same! Ours leaves breastfeeding for everyone. I always ask because it brings some levity to a rough night.”
“I totally understand it's protocol. I realized she had mentioned she was new to the practice so I'm assuming she was following the rules precisely. I was curious about the reasoning behind the rule but people explained that. :)”
“I'm a man who could get pregnant. You can't always tell by looking at us. Better to always ask than to miss one.”