Things can get pretty stressful when you get pregnant . You have to constantly watch what you eat, how much physical activity you have, and attend numerous doctor’s appointments.
But some women are coming out saying they have been ‘patient profiled’ while pregnant , and it’s not okay. I’m really interested in this story, so I figured I would look into it for you. Let’s find out more. Shall we?
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A woman recently posted on TikTok.
She touched on a sensitive subject. You see, she’s a high-risk OB who wanted women to be aware of this hospital practice which she claims is harmful to patients. In the video, she says that “Hospitals have been found to routinely drug test pregnant people without their informed consent.”
Oh, wow!
Did you know about that? But here’s the real kicker. According to this woman, this isn’t happening to all women. In fact, it tends to occur to those of color, those from low-income areas, those with tattoos, and/or those who are being ‘difficult,’ she writes in her caption.
Why?
She explains further that this act is based on assumptions about the patient’s lifestyle. For example, the people who work in the hospital look at the woman’s appearance. If something seems “off to them,” they drug test.
I don’t like the sound of that.
One woman saw the video, and she chimed in with her story. Apparently, she claims that she was drug tested because she had tattoos and piercings. She also spoke out about things when she didn’t like what the doctor had to say, so that’s why she thinks she was drug tested.
Sounds far-fetched?
Not so fast. This woman was also told by a nurse that she didn’t need an epidural because of her tattoos. Basically, what the nurse insinuated was that if she was able to get tattoos, then why would she need an epidural?
Um, what?
That doesn’t even make sense. The nurse also spoke out loud about this woman’s condition in the hallway, revealing her medical history for everyone to hear. How is this okay? No wonder this woman fired her first nurse but in all fairness, not every nurse acts inappropriately as this one did.
That’s crazy, no?
When this woman found out she was drug tested, she probed and discovered why. She was advised by the nurse that they thought she was doing drugs. And it all seemed from the fact she had tattoos and piercings and asked a lot of questions.
OMG!
I don’t know about you but that doesn’t seem right to me. I’m okay with drug testing people but they need to be asked for their consent first. As it turns out many people on TikTok agreed with that.
This woman said, “THIS my first pregnancy I was drug tested at every appt without my knowledge. Even had the office social worker come in to have a meeting with me.”
What do you think of that?
Is it okay for doctors and nurses to assume things about a person’s life? And judge them on their appearance, status, or background? I don’t think so. You can’t deem somebody a drug user just by the way they’re dressed or whether they have tattoos or piercings. If that isn’t “patient profiling,” then I don’t know what is.
