What i can and can't do - 6 weeks pregnant.?

Question

Im 6 weeks pregnant, been to doctor and hes said theres nothing i cant do work wise.
Im a auxiliary Nurse and was told that i shouldnt go in the x ray rooms by my mum, shouldnt the doc of told me this?

Im a little worried as im going to be around alot of hazardous things and lifting patients!

What do you think?

I have recieved alot of questions about ' IM A NURSE HOW DO I NOT KNOW THIS?' Im only an auxilliary nurse not trained so i deal with lifting washing and feeding patients, general care. Its my first pregnancy so i havent a clue and my job doesnt involve training so i dont a have a clue with what i can and cant do!

Answer 1

If there are x-rays being taken in the room you are also in, there are many things you can do to reduce the amount of radiation you receive. By the way, every person, male or female, pregnant or not, should follow these rules. Time and distance is your best way of reducing exposure.....

If a patient is having a portable x-ray in a hospital room, you should not be used to hold that patient. Even if you cannot step out of the room, you should not be in the path of the x-ray beam. X-rays are highly directed beams of radiation, and they do not fly all willy nilly around a room. The only part getting a measurable dose of radiation is the part of the PATIENT which is being imaged. Once the exposure is made, there is no more radiation.

The following is taken from a website which has questions answered by qualified medical personel who are experts in radiation and its effects. Here is what I found.

"QUESTION: My wife had a radiation exposure as she accompanied our 1.5-year-old son to the x-ray room for a diagnostic lung x-ray test. She was asked if she was pregnant and she said no as she did not know she was. A week after, she thinks that she may have been 15-20 days pregnant at the time of the x ray. I need to know if this dose of radiation can affect the potential baby and how? Please advise what to do.
ANSWER: Thank you for the question. The x-ray machine has a cone and filter, therefore the amount of radiation that your wife received, if any, was some small fraction of the exposure that your child was exposed to. Her exposure would even be much less if she wore a lead apron. Without knowing where she was standing and the specific type of lung exam being performed, I can't estimate a fetal dose. However, it would be most unusual if the fetus received an exposure that would result in any effects. The threshold for birth defects is approximately 20,000 mrad and the fetus probably received a only few mrad, an exposure of no consequence. The International Commission on Radiation Protection states that radiation doses this small do not warrant any concern or action.


Kelly Classic
Certified Medical Health Physicist"

http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q2675.html

"There are two things you can consider to reduce your dose. One is to step away from the point where the x-ray beam is interacting with the patient. Being able to step away just a foot or two up or down the side of the table can reduce your exposure by a factor of 10. Another way to reduce your exposure is to stand on the image intensifier side of the x-ray unit, not the side of the x-ray tube. Most of the radiation being emitted from the tube and interacting with the patient is scattered right back at the tube so there is more exposure if you stand by the tube."

http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q6483.html

Answer 2

If you're a nurse, shouldn't you know some of this stuff? You need to sit down with your doctor and tell him all the things you do and have his say "yes" or "no" to each item. Lifting patients should be okay for a while since you're body is used to it, but I wouldn't lift an extremely heavy patient. Of course, stay out of the x-ray rooms during the x-ray. Maybe you can wear a mask while you work to help reduce the introduction to different viruses and potential diseases. Talk to some doctors that you work with and get all the info you need.

Answer 3

Anything you do are take involves your baby. You do not want to be in the x-ray room,you do not want to take anything stronger than tylenol, or advil. Whatever you do your baby does also. Try to limit your lifting,I know its going to be hard,but your baby's life is a stake here,get help with lifting patients don't do it your self. Other women who have children will understand. God gave you this child,use common sense,and the doctors are just people they don't know everything. This is your baby not theirs.

Answer 4

You cannot go into xray rooms and I am suprised that as a nurse you don't already know this.

and you should be carefull lifting heavy weights especially as you get bigger

You are a nurse why don't you know more about this??

Answer 5

You should talk to your doctor again and tell him/her what you do at work. Tell him you don't feel comfortable lifting people...and going in the x-ray room... You know exactly what you should and shouldn't do as far as work goes. If you talk to your doctor and still feel like he didn't help much and didn't pay attention to you, then go to another doctor ASAP.

Answer 6

You should tell your employer in writing that you are pregnant. Your employer then has a duty to carry out a ‘risk assessment’ of your working conditions. If anything is found which jeopardises your health or that of your unborn child then your employer must remove that risk. In your case, your employer should make sure that you do not continue to lift. If your employer cannot remove lifting from your job then he should offer you a suitable alternative job on the same terms and conditions (pay etc). If there are no other jobs then he should suspend you on full pay.

You may find it useful to speak to your doctor or midwife and ask them to provide you with a letter stating how and why your job poses a risk to your health and safety.

X-rays are a form of radiation. This kind of radiation is invisible. X-rays are used to make "pictures" of the bones and organs. They have been associated with a very small increased risk of cancer, particularly leukemia, for an unborn baby. But the risk is very small. Medical x-rays don't increase the number of babies born with such deformities. Even with no x-ray exposure, 4 to 6 percent of babies are born with some deformity. Most of these are minor, like skin tags or an extra finger or toe.

What you should do:
- Take atleast .4mg folic acid daily (decreases the risk of neural tube defects by up to 70%)
- Take your prenatal vitamins
- Eat healthy and approx. 300 caloric intake increase daily
- Exercise (approx. 30 minutes/day: prevents excess weight gain; reduces pregnancy related problems like back pain, swelling, and constipation; improves sleep; increasees energy; improves outlook; prepares for labour; lessens the recovery time).
- Drink plenty of fluids (blood volume increases dramtically, drinking enough water will prevent dehydation nand constipation)

Don't do:
- Alcolohol (caone of the most known causes of mental and physical birth defects, can damage baby's developing nervous system).
- Recreational drugs (risk of premature birth, poor growth, birth defects, behaviour and learning problems, and even born addictd to the drugs themselves)
- Smoke/nicotine (stillbirth, prematurity, low birth weight, SIDS, asthma, etc.)
- High caffeine intake = increased risk of miscarriage
- Avoid high impact exercise and activities (contact sports, downhill skiiing, horseback riding, etc.) Don't get overheated or dehydrated.
- Avoid eating: soft, unpasteurized cheeses (feta, goat, brie, camembert, blue cheese); unpasteurized milk, juices, and apple cider; raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs (mousse, raw cookie dough, homemade ice cream, caesar dressing); raw or undercooked meats, fish (sushi), or shellfish; processed meats such as hot dogs and deli meats (these should be well cooked); shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish (these types of fish have high mercury = damage to teh developing brain of the fetus)
- Do not change the cats litter box (toxoplasmosis can cause prematurity, poor growth, and severe eye and brain damage).
- Ask your doctor before taking over-the-counter and prescription medications
- Don't sit in the sauna or hot tub. This raises your risk of miscarriage and birth defects. (overheating can lead to spinal malformations and other problems for the baby)
- Don't douche without talking to your doctor about it first. Douching could force air into the vagina, which can cause an air embolism.

Answer 7

No x-ray room , No lifting over 20 lbs is what my doctor told me, Stretching (ie. trying to get that box on the top shelf) Congrats and enjoy your pregnancy

Answer 8

I believe that you should not lift heavy things or be around X-rays while pregnant. This is common knowledge stuff, maybe your dr. just don't think about it.
Be careful and take care.

Answer 9

when my mom was pregnant with my little sister she had to take iron pills, couldn't drink a lot of mountain dew, she had to watch what she ate, and she couldn't do a lot of heavy work.

Answer 10

if your working File Vacation leaves for preparation for your pregnancy. and make sure your daily meal and vitamins.