Why Every Pregnant Nurse Deserves A Medal

Written by Tori Hamilton, BScN, RN, IBCLC, PMH-C

I am a registered nurse psychotherapist, IBCLC, and mom of four. I have additional trainings in psychotherapy techniques involving Internal Family Systems, Compassionate Inquiry, and Brainspotting. Please check out my other articles and join the email list for additional supports. To book sessions, visit my other website https://attunedtherapy.ca

March 7, 2016

My husband and I are getting excited thinking about adding another child to our brood. Call us crazy, but we are looking forward to adding a little more chaos into our already busy lives. I love almost everything about having kids. I love baby making and unruly baby kicks. I love the maternity clothes, eating whatever the heck I want and shopping for adorable baby items. I can even somewhat handle the thought of going through child birth again.

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Surprisingly, the worst part of my pregnancy wasn’t chasing after my toddler, having frequent braxton hicks or simultaneously house training our puppy.

It was being a pregnant nurse.

Stay with me here, as I’m sure many of you – and probably not just nurses – will be able to relate to these reasons why every pregnant nurse deserves a medal.

The Big, Bad Truth About Being A Pregnant Nurse

1. Bursting Bladders

As a pregnant nurse, you don’t get to just stop assisting with ventilating a patient just because your poor bladder may or may not explode. No matter what area of nursing you work in, your patients needs will often come before your own, whether you are pregnant or not! That is why I always use the facilities when they are readily available. You just never know when you will be able to go again!

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2. Tiny Bathrooms

Even though you won’t be able to pee whenever the mood strikes, you will still be making regular trips to the bathroom while assisting your patients – that toilet always taunting and reminding you that that you need to go yourself. Picture this: An obese, elderly woman, a walker, an IV pole and an eight month pregnant nurse crammed into a 4×4 room. Imagine said nurse trying to perform hygiene care in said tiny room. Needless to say, that moment is not the highlight of that nurse’s day!

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3. Terrible, Awful Smells

I think nurses win hands-down for the worst smelling job out there. It’s not even like there’s just one smell to worry about, either. Whether they are emptying an ostomy bag, performing wound care on a stage 4 pressure ulcer or serving the hospital food, nauseous pregnant nurses everywhere are trying to keep it together.


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4. Danger, Danger Everywhere

Working in any profession that deals with sick, unstable (mentally or physically) people is a recipe for disaster. As a pregnant nurse, you have to be especially wary of your health and safety, because you are not just protecting yourself. It could be as obvious as a violent, mentally ill patient, or appearing as harmless as a small kamagra over the counter child with chicken pox. Either way, pregnant nurses must always be on high alert at their work sites to keep themselves and their unborn babies safe.

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5. An Emotional Roller Coaster

It really is impressive how pregnancy hormones toy with our emotions on their own, let alone when you have serious life and death situations to deal with on a daily basis. Even while pregnant, nurses must deal with explosive family dynamics, high-stress emergency situations, moody patients and doctors on power-trips. Each 12 hour shift is its own emotional roller coaster, compounded x 10 by the estrogen flowing through every pregnant nurses veins.

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6. Your Body Hates You

If you are a nurse or know one, get them to wear a step counter for a day. A nurse may only walk back and forth in a small corridor, but it adds up to MILES. To a pregnant nurse, what seemed like a small task like helping someone put on their shoes or bending over to empty a catheter bag, can make them feel winded.

It doesn’t help the old self esteem having to wear the same compression stockings as your 80-year-old diabetic patient to prevent your legs from looking like you have a bad case of elephantitis. Meanwhile, your Cirque-Du-Soleil baby is performing impressive though painful acrobatics in your uterus while trying to give the doctor an in depth run-down on your patient. It’s no wonder that you fall asleep reading stories to your toddler every night!

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7. Night Shift

It’s no secret that pregnant women have trouble sleeping. It’s also no secret that nurses work ridiculous shifts. As a pregnant nurse, you find yourself exhausted after a 12 hour night shift, but having to wake up hourly throughout the day to reposition, take bathroom breaks and to become the victim of your toddler’s general tomfoolery.

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OK, Enough Complaining

As you can see, being a pregnant nurse has its faults. You can’t pee when you want, it stinks, your body hurts, and you can’t sleep. Are you surprised that I want to do it all over again for a third time?

Three trimesters.

Nine long months.

Oh God.

Although being a pregnant nurse is my own personal version of hell, I love my job and kids so much that I would do it all over again in a heart beat! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… Right? So if you end up in the hospital and have a pregnant nurse, please be kind!

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How did you find working through your pregnancy? Nurses, did I miss anything?

every pregnant nurse deserves a medal

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18 Comments

  1. Julie S.

    Oh man that is some tough work pregnant nurses! I just had to get around an office and the worst part was driving but being on your feet all day, the sick patients and their odors.. oh man! Yea, you do deserve a medal.

    Reply
    • TheMamaNurse

      Thanks Julie! It’s not easy, but we all still love it.

      Reply
  2. Erin @ Stay At Home Yogi

    So you’re basically a super hero! 😉 I just can’t imagine being on my feet all day long pregnant, although being pregnant and stuck at a desk job brought it’s own pains! The smells would be a tough one to deal with I bet!

    Reply
    • TheMamaNurse

      Yes, I definitely would not love to be pregnant working at a desk all day either! Working and breathing in general can be terrible while pregnant 🙂

      Reply
  3. Debbie

    OooOOo, I never considered what it must be like being pregnant and being nurse until now. It’s not like you can suddenly run off if you suddenly feel nauseous or need too pee. And as for helping patients get around, that can’t be easy when pregnant.

    Nurses deserve pay rises as it is, but pregnant nurses deserve medals too.

    Take care and be careful!

    xx

    Reply
  4. Healing Mama

    I already think nurses are God sent angles, and I have so much love and respect for nurses. My hats go off to pregnant nurses, seriously, it can’t be easy.

    Reply
    • TheMamaNurse

      Aww that’s very sweet of you to say! 🙂

      Reply
  5. abby

    spot ON!!! I did it 3 times! Each time …..never got better LOL (in fact, i’d say each time i was over it much faster….).
    I had a lot of patients feel the need to touch my belly or hold my hand and give me advice….which their intention (if sober) was sweet…..but not necessarily wanted.
    I never minded feeling each kid move around …. I actually LOVED it. The strangest times though were when I would perform CPR or in the middle of a trauma.

    Reply
    • TheMamaNurse

      Hahahaha. Thanks for sharing, Abby! There are just so many reasons why being a pregnant nurse is awful.. I didn’t even touch on doing CPR or patients getting handsy!

      Reply
  6. Samantha

    Oh man, I thought I had it rough working retail while I was pregnant! I never thought about nurses. One time this customer was eating doritos and breathing them in my face and I thought I was going to be sick all over him. It’s hard work being pregnant, but it’s so worth it. Good luck if you decide to expand your brood! I kind of want to go find a pregnant nurse and give her a hug now!

    Reply
    • TheMamaNurse

      Hahahaha. Thank you for this comment Samantha! Gave me a good laugh 😀

      Reply
  7. Marissa

    TOTALLY agree. To every pregnant nurse who goes in to work – props. Props for facing enough potential danger day to day to give me an anxiety attack. Real life snippets:
    “What’s that? That kid had varicella this whole time?”
    “Where is that last sharp? The one for the HEP B patient??”
    “CODE WHITE” (your unit).
    Thanks for being tough so your patients get the best care. Much appreciated.

    Reply
    • TheMamaNurse

      Thanks so much for reading Marissa and for your comment! Nursing is a fantastic and fulfilling job, but it doesn’t come without risks as you mentioned!!

      Reply
  8. Christine

    Oh my goodness! Been there, done that 3 times! Thank you for the props!!

    Reply
    • TheMamaNurse

      No problem I have been there too (and right now!), it’s definitely not your typical day job especially when you’re pregnant! ?

      Reply

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