Pregnant Women.

[amberdt03]

i knew a girl that worked till she was like 6 months but she also smoked her entire pregnancy too.

one of the nurses i work with on the transport team worked till she was like 8 months. she didn't have to do any lifting though.

 

[djmedic913]

1 of my partners worked throughout her entire pregnancy. I think went on leave 1 or 2 weeks before the due date. Every shift I worked with her towards the end of her pregnancy I brought my catcher's glove. Any time she went "OW" then grabbed her belly, I got a little nervous.

And worse when we would have to lift larger patients with out assistance around, I was half expecting the baby to come shooting out...lol

 

[alphatrauma]

Financial considerations aside... I don't see why any mother-to-be in her right mind would work on an ambulance past her first trimester. Secondary to the health and safety of mother/child... I literally hate it when people (male or female, for whatever reason) come to work and can't function at 100%, and expect others to pick up the slack. Stay home, or play desk jockey

 

[Medic744]

Totally in my right mind and functioned at the same level if not better than some people in the entire field. I never expected anybody to pick up my slack and never bowed out of any of my duties because I was pregnant. Any job has its dangers for anybody pregnant or not. My son was never in any danger and neither was I anymore than anybody else. My crew members from every department may have gone into overdrive when it came to protecting me but all it took was a quick reminder that I am perfectly capable of doing my duties. Before anyone judges anybody elses decisions consider all sides of a situation. Staying on a unit is not for everyone just like being a "desk jockey" isn't for everyone either. I had the option of stepping down but Im sorry I worked to hard to get where I am and being pregnant actually made me work harder. I sat down with my Director (a man) and we disscused all possibilites. He and I both agreed that when either he or I thought it was time to come off the unit that I would. None of my partners ever had any complaints that they brought to him or I about my performance and in fact I recieved quite a bit of praise. All Im asking is that everyone should be opened minded about any situation. Pregnancy, injury, illness, anything. Think through both sides of a situation before jumping to a conclusion that the only right thing is your opinion.

 

[Sasha]

Sweetheart, none of this is a personal attack against you. Stop taking it like it is.

 

[willbeflight]

Not my kid!

Yes it is! And I will take you on Maury to prove it! lmao just joking!!

 

[Medic744]

Im not taking it as a personal attack but giving out my opinion on it from my experience. One of the things that I hate most is when people form an opinion about a situation and form that opinion off a generalization of a population of people. Not everyone in a catagory fit the stereotype and it is really hard to break that opinion when you are one of the ones who doesn't fit the stereotype. Don't worry I don't even let the people I love get away with sterotyping people. The world is full of diversity, good and bad, and to jump to a conclusion without giving the benefit of the doubt based on physical appearance is one of the worlds greatest downfalls.

 

[alphatrauma]

Sweetheart, none of this is a personal attack against you. Stop taking it like it is.

x2


What I stated may not be politically correct or even nice... but it is reality. People coming in to work on "light duty" or with unhealed injuries, (or even sick for that matter) belong at home or behind a desk. They are dead weight and a burden to the rest of the team (whether anyone will tell them or not). People will smile and say, "sure let me get/lift that for you"... then moan about it when (collective, not personal) you are not around. Believe me, it gets old.

If a pregnant woman wants to ride til she's full term, more power to her! It's all fun and games until she steps off the truck the wrong way, or takes a foot to the belly by a combative patient. What happens if she is exposed to a dirty needle or an infectious patient spits blood in her face/eyes? I'll tell you what happens... a choice between possibly contracting Hep/HIV or an aborted fetus.

We are all adults in this field, and can choose to subject ourselves to any potential hazards we see fit. I would never want to hear or read about anyone, whether I knew them or not, losing a child due to occupational hazards... or any other reason for that matter.

 

[Medic744]

Again not taking it as a personal attack just giving an opinion from my perspective with my experience with it. It is true that we are adults that have the choice to put ourselves in harms way and it is true that it is not for every woman who is pregnant. I was not dead weight. I went above and beyond before, during, and after. I never let somebody do my job for me in any form or fashion. If they wanted to help they could jump in on their own but I never passed off my equipment or patient care just because I was pregnant. Trust me in a small department like mine if one person gripes about you or the way you do your job then you know about it. Also every job has its built in dangers to it. By the thinking you are presenting every pregnant woman or ill or injured person should stay at home in bed and not get out. If I had sat there and worried myself to death about every little thing that could go wrong I would have stressed myself out which is worse than physical activity. I had combative patients and questionable patients and didnt pass on the responsibility. I am just trying to point out that this is not the only field where there are dangers for pregnant women. What about a stockperson at Wal-Mart? Or a bank teller? Or a CEO? Or a stay at home mom with other children? A teacher? Or any other number of jobs that women hold. There is the possibilty of coming into contact with a disease or injury, or unpleasant person. They are not putting themselves at more risk than I am because at least when I get in the truck to go to a call I am already prepared to protect myself from any possibilty and expect the unexpected where they don't. The stocker/cashier doesn't expect to fall or have an irrate customer take out a bad day on them, a bank teller doesn't expect to get robbed or have a person with TB cough on them, a CEO doesn't expect the extra stress, a stay at home mom isn't expecting her child to kick her with everything they have in their belly, a teacher doesn't expect a child to give her HIV when he cuts himself on the playground. Look all Im saying is that EVERY job has dangers expected or not and physical expectations of it and to pigeon hole everyone and say they should take time off is not fair to those of us who did it and don't regret it and would do it again. I believe everyone should have their chance. If I had considered all of the dangers and worried over everything that could go wrong I would have never gotten out of bed the entire time.

 

[Sasha]

What about a stockperson at Wal-Mart? Or a bank teller? Or a CEO? Or a stay at home mom with other children? A teacher? Or any other number of jobs that women hold. There is the possibilty of coming into contact with a disease or injury, or unpleasant person.

Those professions are not regularly put into situations where they have to lift heavy objects or people, have the potential to come up on combative people who could shoot you (with the exception of bank tellers who are well protected by police, at least here there is an officer stationed at each bank) and regularly acutely sick people with infectious diseases. They also don't drive screaming down the highway with lights and sirens increasing their chances of a fatal accident.

Are you really trying to compare yourself to a stock person at walmart or a bank teller? The jobs are nowhere near the same.

 

[ResTech]

I had a partner who worked up until she was almost due and she functioned pretty much up to the same speed as when she wasn't pregnant. While I wouldn't necessarily want my gf or wife working in EMS if pregnant, as Medic744 has said, everyone's situation is different. Its easy for someone to throw out all of the what if's and this and that, and try to call a girl out as being careless for working while pregnant, but when u got bills to pay that aren't gonna pay themselves and perhaps are in a situation where the father isn't around... you do what u gotta do.

I have no problem helping my partner or calling the FD for lift assist when we normally wouldn't if she is pregnant. Especially during these times of common economic hardship.

 

[Sasha]

No one called her out! This isn't an attack on her. It was a thread for opinions and I've stated mine, like others have. She's the one who feels she has to defend her position. I couldn't care less what she did during her pregnancy.

 

[Medic744]

AGAIN Im NOT taking it as a personal attack except when it is aimed directly at something I said. All Im trying to do is get people to see that you CANNOT stereotype people according to race, gender, age, or percieved/actual disability. Everyone deserves a chance to do what is best for them.

 

[Sasha]

Good lord, who is stereotyping? It's FACT that pregnant women have a fetus in their uterus.

 

[ResTech]

That's you. Personally I couldn't see putting my fetus at risk, no amount of money is worth that.

Now let me hear you say that when your living on your own, have bills to pay, gas to put in ur car, a son or daughter already to provide for, and the father who currently got you knocked up is no where in sight to offer financial support.

As Medic744 has tried to get ppl to understand, everyones situation is different and unless your there or have been there... you really have no clue (not just you, not ppl in general) what its like to walk in those shoes and have to make that decision.

 

[Sasha]

Now let me hear you say that when your living on your own, have bills to pay, gas to put in ur car, a son or daughter already to provide for, and the father who currently got you knocked up is no where in sight to offer financial support.

As Medic744 has tried to get ppl to understand, everyones situation is different and unless your there or have been there... you really have no clue (not just you, not ppl in general) what its like to walk in those shoes and have to make that decision.

I already live on my own, all by myself and have bills to pay. Doesn't matter, no life is worth money to me. I'd find ways to struggle by, dispatch, work in billing, or pick up another job not in the field. That is my decision when the time comes. You also assume that I'd get "knocked up" by someone who'd run, and you don't know me well enough to make that assumption.

 

[ResTech]

I sincerely hope u never find yourself in that situation then.

I guess instead of working in EMS while ur pregnant to maintain health insurance to cover the pregnancy and have money to live off of, its better to quit your job, become homeless, or start to draw off welfare. Tough choice.

You also assume that I'd get "knocked up" by someone who'd run, and you don't know me well enough to make that assumption.

Im not assuming... but I do sense a bit of naivety... if only we could all predict the losers before hand!

 

[Sasha]

I sincerely hope u never find yourself in that situation then.

I guess instead of working in EMS while ur pregnant to maintain health insurance to cover the pregnancy and have money to live off of, its better to quit your job, become homeless, or start to draw off welfare. Tough choice.

It's called careful planning so none of that is an issue. Or hey... there's this thing called work in dispatch.. or hey maybe even finding a job somewhere else and taking a leave of absence. It's not unemployment or work on a truck, there are grey areas.

 

[LucidResq]

Yes, there are potential risks that can be encountered working in EMS or any other profession while pregnant. I believe that any decisions regarding the potential occupational hazards and their effect on the mother and/or fetus are to be made by the woman and her OB-GYN. Pregnancy complications such as miscarriage are much more common than most people realize. Most of the time the cause of a miscarriage is not determinable, yet countless factors have been shown in studies to increase the risk of miscarriage. Much of this data is contradictory or confusing. To truly avoid all of the identified factors in miscarriage, birth defects, or low birth weight would be completely impossible.

In the UK, evidence-based guidelines on work and pregnancy published by the NHS and the Royal College of Physicians show "there is consistent evidence of risk of harm to pregnant workers from certain work-related activities, but that the level of this risk is small." As far as occupational lifting during pregnancy-

"Pregnant employees should be informed about the generally consistent evidence suggesting that lifting carries no more than a moderate risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, but limited inconsistent evidence for pre-eclampsia. Employers should reduce lifting for pregnant workers where possible, particularly in late pregnancy. However, if a pregnant worker who has been informed of the possible risks wishes to continue then there are insufficient grounds upon which to impose restrictions against her will."

Federal law, via the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, states "women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work." It covers all employers with 15 or more employees and federal, state and local agencies.

Also, the majority opinion of Supreme Court decision United Auto Workers Vs. Johnson Controls states "Decisions about the welfare of future children must be left to the parents who conceive, bear, support and raise them rather than the employers who hire those parents."

 

[Medic744]

Thank you. All Im trying to get people to see is that it is my decision just as any other womans to work while pregnant. Im sure Sasha would take it personally should someone make a broad generalization and dump her into a grouping due to her age, gender, or based on the way she looks. (Yes I looked at your profile) Im trying to make the point that you can't make sweeping generalizations about people. When you find yourself in the situation I was in then you do what you have too. Everyobody has a different opinion and nobody is wrong but take a moment to think it through and don't jump to a conclusion. Everybody deserves the benefit of the doubt and a chance to prove people who doubt them wrong.