Pregnant in cadaver lab? Update post #20

[lynsage]

Does anyone have any experience with this? I looked it up and there seems to be a lot of conflicting information on whether it is safe for a pregnant woman to work in a cadaver lab. I am supposed to be starting an anatomy & physiology course with lab on May 10th, at which point I will be about 8 wks pg. I am debating whether to drop the class and take it during my last trimester, or maybe even wait until after the baby is born.

I spoke with a close friend of mine who is a doctor and she said that aside from concerns about the chemicals the bodies are preserved in, she also wonders if I won't just be barfing the whole time.

Opinions?

[liz-hippymom]

i think you will be BEGGING for the worst morning sickness ever. can't see how you are going to consintrate when everything is making you toss you cookies..put it off mama!

[Autumn Breeze]

Personally, I would put it off until after the baby was born. Congratulations, and good luck!!!

[ZoraP]

If you're already scheduled for this course it's not likely to completely gross you out, right? (Or you wouldn't be taking it in the first place.) I assume you'd be wearing gloves and perhaps a mask when you work with the specimens, wouldn't you? How much exposure is there likely to be, and what chemicals are the most likely to cause harm? I'd be concerned about the morning sickness aspect if you're affected by it; personally, I never have had much so it wouldn't have made any difference to me. If you suffer from morning sickness, though, you may want to cancel everything until your 2nd trimester.

Good luck deciding.

[sere234]

I'd cancel it only because of morning sickness!!

[Drummer's Wife]

yeah, I don't know if I could hang hanging out with cadavers pregnant. I'd wait, personally.

[Family4Christ]

yeah, I don't know if I could hang hanging out with cadavers pregnant. I'd wait, personally.

Ditto. Plus coming from a strictly ignorant point of view, I just can't see anything good coming from hanging with dead people while pregnant.

[sanguine_speed]

[outlier]

I know someone who has taught cadaver labs through two perfectly healthy pregnancies and had no problems at all. I'm sure she checked with a doctor on her chemical exposures. You might want to double up on gloves though because those chemicals tend to seep through tiny cracks and make your hands go numb.

And hanging out with cadavers is awesome! They never say annoying things or have grumpy days.

[butterflies]

I've never done a cadaver lab but I'm a biomedical researcher so I do use some of the same chemicals. (For example, formaldehyde- during pregnancy I use even very dilute solutions only in a chemical hood.) I think your best bet is to get in touch with the university safety office. They are usually incredibly knowledgeable and happy to help.

[Bubblette]

If you decide to complete the class please please please get in touch with the safety officer and look into a good chemical mask. Formaldehyde is nasty stuff even when you're NOT pregnant.

[Kindermama]

I would *never* do it....all those nasty fumes!

[54mama]

Having been in a cadaver lab before and having been pregnant several times (although not at the time in the lab) I would say there would be no possible way that I would have been able to be in the lab smell-wise regardless of what, if any, dangers were posed as a result of any fumes. That said, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life to this day, so strange as it sounds, enjoy it when you do go!

[kittywitty]

The smell will knock you out.

I took A & P II when I was pg with #3. Luckily, the cadaver was optional for most things as we had models and we weren't allowed to touch the actual cadaver (they couldn't afford many). But it was still in the room and OMG it stunk to high heaven. I would tell your teacher and see what they say-they can tell you if it's better to wait or if they can make arrangements for you.

[rrible]

When I was in med school, two women in my class were pregnant at some point during the first year anatomy course - no real way to defer that without stopping for the whole year. They went through the safety officers and were fitted with what looked almost like gas masks... looked funny, but they made it through ok.

[BlackSheepPDX]

I would confirm with your school as far as what type of chemicals are actually being used (my understanding is that they don't use formaldehyde specifically anymore, but I may be mistaken) and rule out safety issues (though I suspect a mask would be sufficient for those concerns).

I do have to agree about the morning sickness issue, though, and lean towards doing it in the latter part of the pregnancy instead. Two reasons: 1) No matter how awesome you think cadaver lab is (and it's AWESOME), there are still times when you get grossed out unexpectedly, even NOT pregnant, and I'd be really suspicious of being able to tolerate the smells/sights/etc with morning sickness in action 2) they are often a few hours long, and you may not tolerate being in a food free environment for that long (exacerbating morning sickness issues as a result)

[aloneinid]

No way I would expose my baby to those chemicals, especially in the first trimester.

[cameragirl]

I'm guessing that the morning sickness brought on by the smell and sights would be pretty awful. What did your doctor recommend? They've been there, so they should be able to tell you if it is safe enough.

[Jelinifer]

Another vote to check on the chemicals... my DH's cousin works as an undertaker and was strongly advised to go on disability for her entire pregnancy because of the chemicals they were using on the bodies.

[lynsage]

I asked the midwife we're probably going to be going with, and she recommended at least waiting until I'm out of the 1st trimester, so I dropped A&P and picked up Spanish- a little less exciting, maybe, but formaldehyde-free!