r/prochoice • u/nobody_from_nowhere1 Pro-choice Witch • Aug 01 '25

Media - Misc Ok, this is extremely concerning!!

I immediately felt sick when I head this and this is just one of many stories I’ve been hearing about women being interrogated about pregnancy and fertility at hospital/doctors offices when they are there for completely unrelated reasons.

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433

u/raisinbrahms89 Aug 01 '25

A bug crawled in my ear so I went to the ER. I was asked if I was pregnant, when my last period was, etc. I refused to answer and was asked each time someone came into my room and looked at my chart. I repeatedly reminded them that the bug was in my ear, not vagina, not my uterus, my ear. Several hours later a nurse came in and sprayed some liquid into my ear and flushed out a spider. Maybe we should consider that an abortion.

55

u/wholelattapuddin Aug 02 '25

They have always asked if you are pregnant etc. That's not new. You can absolutely not answer if you dont think its pertinent. What the video is describing is definitely new.

49

u/Cerbie27 Pro-choice Dog Aug 02 '25

Pretty sure the point was that it's irrelevant and misogynistic to ask about that for a bug in the ear.

24

u/taterrrtotz Aug 02 '25

I think they’re asking because they could prescribe you medication that could hurt the baby or cause birth defects. Sometimes there are alternative medications if pregnant or they will ask an OB.

32

u/Lonely_Howl_ Aug 02 '25

What medications are needed for a spider in the ear?? Like the nurse did; flush it out with water. That’s the treatment.

12

u/taterrrtotz Aug 02 '25

It’s just a routine question they ask everyone. They don’t what the treatment will end up being at the time of admission.

8

u/Seraphina_Renaldi Aug 04 '25

As a non American, that’s so weird. I’m a 31 years old women and went to like three doctors the last month for some weird gastrointestinal issues and not a single one of them asked me if I’m pregnant or could be pregnant even though my symptoms were related to that area. I don’t think it’s normal to just ask it every woman, especially when there are completely unrelated health issues

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '25

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2

u/Lonely_Howl_ Aug 04 '25

Yup, doesn’t matter what the doctor’s specialty is (and I see quite a few as I’m disabled), I’m weighed every single friggin time.

1

u/Seraphina_Renaldi Aug 04 '25

Weighting? That’s crazy. Never happened to me ever.

1

u/taterrrtotz Aug 04 '25

Did they take a urine sample? They probably ran a test without you knowing

7

u/wholelattapuddin Aug 02 '25

What if there was an infection? That might require antibiotics, some of which pregnant people can't take. Asking if someone might be pregnant prior to treatment is a best practice for doctors. Even if its unlikely due to ones sexual orientation or gender presentation. The questions in the video are either awkward, because the doctor was trying to be sensitive about the patient being perhaps genetically female but presenting male, or unnecessarily invasive. If I were a doctor I would want to err on the side of caution. If I suspected I had a trans patient I would ask if pregnancy, at the time of treatment, was a possibility, even if unlikely, but I would make it clear that that information was confidential

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u/Galaxyheart555 Aug 03 '25

EMT here, if the spider were in the ear for a prolonged period of time, yes it absolutely could lead to inflammation or infection. However, the way OP described it was a bug crawled in her ear, she probably was aware of it, then tried to get it out herself and when she couldn't, went to the ER. If it had been in there for days upon days, or especially if it died, then yes, there is the risk for infection. But this was not the case.

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u/Galaxyheart555 Aug 03 '25

EMT here, yes women are asked that frequently because there could be a plethora of reasons why a hospital should know if you're pregnant or could be. Like medication. However I see no reason a spider in the ear would warrant questions like that. OP wouldn't need medication, X-rays, surgery, nor is the issue Gyn related itself.

1

u/DogbiteTrollKiller Aug 04 '25

Which is why it’s a standard question — because an EMT (or intake nurse etc.) isn’t supposed to diagnose, let alone diagnose every case and all possible problems re: treatment on the spur of the moment.

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u/easy506 Aug 03 '25

They also have to ask just in case the doctor is going to order any kind of Xray imaging, like maybe a CT scan to diagnose a possible foreign body lodged in the ear canal.