I was reading an article on some website called 7 Tips to Tell Your Boss Your Pregnant. The 7 tips included such reasonable advise as to tell your boss first before other employees, to tell your boss in a private location, to be professional and to not be afraid to spill the beans.
Yes, this advise seems reasonable. Reasonable to normal people. Nurses are not normal people. Here is the charming story of how my boss found out I was pregnant with my first born.
The NICU was hopping. Medications, IV’s, blood draws, assessments, and feedings were filling up my day. My mind was filled only with secret thoughts of the 8 week old fetus growing inside of me. The thought of my new pregnancy was all-consuming. There was not a second of the day that I was not thinking about how big the baby was now, was it healthy?, am I showing?, where can I get chocolate ice cream at 3 am?, is all this normal?”
My internal thoughts were abruptly broken with the charge nurse yelling “We need you to catch a baby in LDR 3 right now!” Okey Dokey. Off I go.
I run into LDR 3, throw on a pair of gloves, and catch the newborn the minute my hands are gloved. The staff in the LDR are immersed in the delivery of the baby and don’t bother giving me a report. No big deal.
Wipe, wipe, wipe, the blood and amniotic fluid off. Baby looks a little funny. She is grunting and retracting. Having difficulty keeping her airway open. She has some central cyanosis, a little blue around the lips. Give her some blow by oxygen until she pinks up. Prepare the baby for transfer to the NICU.
Look around the LDR and notice everyone is gowned and gloved and wearing splash guard masks, including the pediatrician who helps with the resuscitation. Hmmm, that’s interesting.
Start to admit the baby to the NICU. She has intrauterine growth retardation, has increased work of breathing, and has that nurse- instinctive “does not look right” appearance. Get the prenatal report in bits and pieces from the pediatrician and the L&D nurse. Mom is a 22 yo with poor prenatal care. She is a G2P1 with no significant health problems, oh, except she has untreated syphilis, which we have known about all day, but just now decided to tell the RN catching her baby.
Oh no. Now what? I don’t’ remember reading about exposing yourself to syphilis when your 8 weeks pregnant by catching a strangers baby who has the potential of killing your unborn fetus in “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” What chapter was that in anyway?
“XRAY!” Zap. The xray tech takes a chest xray of my patient with minimal warning, with me standing two feet away and not enough time to walk farther away. Crap!
I decide to confess. Me whispering to pediatrician: “Uhm, is it a problem that I am 8 weeks pregnant and taking care of this rule out syphilis patient?
Pediatrician: “Yes! You need to change assignments now. Syphilis exposure in the first trimester can cause growth restriction, mental retardation, miscarriage, blah, blah, blah………………..”
The room starts to spin. All I can hear is murmurings and a soft buzzing sound in my ear. I start to sob uncontrollably. The charge nurse walks in and asks what is wrong. My boss walks in and asks what is wrong. The director of OB comes in and asks what is wrong. Housekeeping comes in and asks what is wrong.
I take a deep breath and tell everyone that I am 8 weeks pregnant.
“Congratulations!” “When is your due date?” “Do you have any names picked out?” “Where will you register?”
Congratulations? They can’t be serious.
The staff and OB director reassure me that there is practically a zero percent chance I would contract syphilis from caring for this baby, and infecting my unborn fetus. Not to worry. Phew
Fast forward 6 months later: Take home from hospital a beautiful healthy, term baby girl. She is vigorous and thriving. When she is ready to nurse in the middle of the night, she starts to glow in the dark and flies to my bed from her bassinet. No worries.
RR
