Strollerderby

Neonatal Nurse Puts Preemie in Her Pocket and Takes Pictures

Posted by JeanneSager

A nurse on the neonatal unit of an Israeli hospital is facing disciplinary action after photos of her holding a premature infant girl in her pocket landed in the hands of hospital adminstration. The hospital's director general has her back, saying the photos were taken as part of a presentation to be shown to parents of preemies.

Most troubling here, no one seems to know whether the baby girl's parents were aware their daughter was out of her incubator and slipped kangaroo-style into a nurse's scrub pocket or whether they agreed to have their delicate baby used in the photo the hospital said was supposed to provide a bit of humor in the presentation. What's funny about a teeny weeny baby struggling to survive catching the creeping crud from a nurse's dirty pocket?

The nurse is said not to have initiated the photos - she was simply doing what she was told. A veteran of more than a dozen years on the neonatal unit, you'd hope she'd have more sensitivity and just plain sense. 

Do you think she should be disciplined or should the punishment be levied on the boss who passed down the order?

Source/Image: YNetNews

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Comments

 

Amber said:

As the mom of a preemie that's just horrifying.  My daughter wasn't that small, and she's fine now, but if this sort of thing had happened I would be so livid.  I sincerely hope the parents were consulted first.

As for who should be held accountable, I would say both the boss and the nurse.

November 12, 2008 1:33 PM
 

Carly said:

I too, am a mother of a preemie and at first i thought the pic was cute, but then reading that the parents didnt know anything about it, thats stepping over the line.  preemies are fighting everyday of their little lives to thrive and this idiot puts her in her pocket, like a joke??  come on!  she needs to be fired for sure.  thats just sick!

November 12, 2008 1:36 PM
 

anne05 said:

Considering how many freaking rules the NICU had about how often we could hold our own child, and under what circumstances, and in which hours, I would be absolutely livid to have some nurse manhandling my wee one for nothing more than a photo op.

November 12, 2008 2:31 PM
 

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) said:

Fucked. Up. I say fire anyone involved.

November 12, 2008 4:32 PM
 

kboutique said:

OMG!  They both should be fired immediately.  I can't imagine someone actually considered this a "good idea" so as to bring 'humor to the presentation.'  What is so funny about that???  Wow.....immediate termination for both if you ask me.

November 12, 2008 5:46 PM
 

Mamallama said:

I sure as hell hope that baby is ok.  

November 12, 2008 10:16 PM
 

leahsmom said:

In addition to the folks above, who say if they aren't allowed to hold a premature child that often, it's not right that medical staff should be to make a joke out of the child's condition (oh, excuse me, "add humour"), "just following orders" isn't something I'd expect to hear from an Israeli woman!

November 13, 2008 9:55 AM
 

Manjari said:

I would like to add my agreement with everyone who thinks they should be fired immediately.

November 13, 2008 11:55 AM
 

Shannon LC Cate said:

The boss should definitely be fired and the nurse too.  But I'd hope they wouldn't scapegoat the nurse and let the boss get off scott-free.

I agree that a nurse with that much experience should have said "hell no" when asked to do this.  We parents of preemies (me too) are counting on the nurses to take care of and advocate for our children.

November 13, 2008 1:31 PM
 

LoveLy said:

OMG!! Both the boss and nurse should get a boot in their asses. That baby should be some where warm and safe not naked in some dirty ass pocket!!!

December 2, 2008 3:19 PM

About JeanneSager

Jeanne Sager is a writer who lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, a dog and too many cats. She refuses to believe motherhood comes with pumpkin appliqued sweaters, and she';s not ready to apologize for having only one child. She writes about raising her kid in her own hometown and the mom stuff she's not embarrassed to own at her blog, Inside Out (http://jeannesager.blogspot.com), she's contributing editor of Grand Magazine, and she's a regular essayist here on Babble

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