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If she's going to need a CT scan then it's a sensible question.
Radiation exposure has risks to foetuses so if there is any chance of pregnancy then the women needs to know so she can make an informed choice about proceeding with a CT scan. In a trauma situation such as being singed following battling a dragon, the CT scan would probably still need to happen regardless.
That's not what happens though.
What happens is they ask you when your last period was. You tell them. They insist on a pregnancy test anyway. You say you don't care if you're pregnant, will immediately abort any fetus, and you understand the risks. They refuse to do anything at all until you take the pregnancy test anyway. And now you're in danger if you're in a red state and the test does come back up positive, because they'll be stalking your movements now.
Female: "not necessary - me and my partner have been trying for years now but never could conceive; it's okay though, she tries her best regardless"
Nurse: ".....oh"
My friend had her uterus removed and they still force her to take the standard pregnancy test when she comes in. Like, it's right there in the chart that it's not physically possible!
Thank health insurance lawyers for that. Unintentionally terminating a pregnancy or causing a birth defect is prohibitively expensive for healthcare providers. If we could all agree not to sue for malpractice, doctors would be more free to use their own judgement. Of course, the more doctors you know, the less comforting that thought might be.
Yeah, that's not a safe agreement to make. Even in saner countries.
foetuses
I’ll never not pronounce this foe-tusses
She needs to make an informed choice. SHE. So tell her the scan (and perhaps some other aspects of treatment, like medication/anesthesia) has risks to a fetus and ask if she could be pregnant, even offer a test if there's a possibility.
And make sure that question is asked and answered in private!
But her cycle timing is not necessarily relevant. It's highly unlikely to get pregnant during your period, but possible since your ovaries alternate and can be out of sync. Meanwhile, someone who hasn't had sperm anywhere near her in six months isn't gonna be pregnant even if it's been three since her LMP.
What would you do if she were unconscious, refuse to treat in case it might harm a hypothetical fetus? You might say that's ridiculous but it's happening in 6-week ban states now. And when women are pregnant and miscarrying they've died of sepsis because there was still a fetal heartbeat.
Everything you said is accurate, with one caveat: patients are often ignorant about the mechanics of pregnancy. Reproductive health education is shockingly insufficient among the population. "Could you be pregnant?" is not a useful question unless you're sure that the patient understands how pregnancy works. Asking for the date of their last cycle is at the very least a data point that has some diagnostic value. "No, I can't be pregnant because my boyfriend always pulls out" is a statement that contains a lot of information, but none of it has diagnostic value. You would still need to ask all the questions related to possible pregnancy.
That said, you're right that the timing isn't necessarily informative, either. And double down on asking these, or any, questions in private.
I don't live in the states. I haven't been asked this question preceding scans, prescriptions or other interventions since I was a teenager. In fact, I was at the hospital today and wasn't even asked if I could be pregnant.
This indirect beating around the bush takes away women's choice and autonomy, it almost feels like a trick. I'm not menopausal and I don't often get my period, so it wouldn't be a good indicator for many women, anyway, and delays care.
I understand why this question hits, but here’s some context regarding charting and medical chart audits.
The employers get in trouble if the check in forms are not filled out completely. This includes a complete set of vital signs, no single points of missing data for any reason, including an actual, not stated, weight. A month later, the auditors will have finished looking for blank spots in the chart and both doctor and nurse will receive email asking that this blank spot be filled.
The other piece is pregnancy or lack thereof determines meds. If a doctor prescribes a med that isn’t pregnancy safe they could be liable in a court of law. It’s also why the ubiquitous 3 minute pregnancy test is thrown in if they’re collecting urine. To make sure no one is harming a fetus with the wrong medication. Again, so the doctor doesn’t get sued.
The politics of the day make this question so loaded, but the reality is the question is likely not even being asked for you.
The easy fix in that case would be to explain why they're asking...
it's always fun to get this one as a trans woman. then i say i don't get periods and they ask why and i say i don't have a uterus.
Damn, if that ain’t affirming though lol.
My non-binary friend was telling me that they felt kinda like the doctors weren’t taking them seriously and I’m like “Congratulations! Also that sucks.”
That reminds me of a friend who was a PhD level physicist who said "well, men have started to explain my own research to me, so I think that means I'm passing?"
I imagine they then switch to blaming all of your problems on HRT, based on my experience.
Tummy troubles? Must be the T! Athletes foot? You should half your T dose!
I have a uterus and I never get asked this question unless I'm at the gyn or specifically in for lower abdominal pain. I wonder if it has anything to do with living in a country that isn't rolling back abortion rights.
Isn't this so that they can determine whether the patient could be pregnant before proceeding with any medical intervention that could imperial the life of either mother or fetus?
imperial
~~I can’t un-autocorrect that in my head. What word were you trying to type?~~
Scratch that. Apparently, imperil is a word. TIL.
Lol, didn't catch that. You got it!
Imperial works better there ..
When my ex was pregnant with our kid, they asked this at EVERY. SINGLE. APPOINTMENT.
It's a way to approximate fetal age without an ultrasound and make sure development is progressing as expected. So while pregnant its actually a relevant question. Asking every time is one way to ensure that records/expectations are correct, same reason they ask your birthday like 3 times between checkin, the nurse, and the doc.
For women with less standard cycles I'm sure it is more annoying.
I would say that it could absolutely be a very valid question to asses the patient's medical condition.
The question itself seems fair, asking it as the first question in this scenario seems less so.
What does the menstrual cycle have to do with their medical condition in any situation not related to reproduction?
Since I stopped taking BC (husband is on chemo so he said what's the point) and am in my early 40s, I can truly say I don't know because they're often sporadic and frankly tracking it is the least of my concerns.
If bears are known to be attracted to menstruation, why would it be so outlandish to think that dragons might be, as well?
This is a myth that keeps a lot of women out of remote and forestry jobs. To this day older men still warn me about bears when I'm hiking and camping. It's based in assumptions, not facts, like a lot of comments in here.
I say this as a woman who's waved at bears during my seven forestry contracts.
In my case, it was just a dumb reference to the movie Anchorman. I didn't realize anyone actually believed it.
I did not realize that was a quote. And well, gestures at the rest of the comments and world.
I'm stunned that people actually believe it, truly. Also, I'm not saying it's high art, but you really haven't seen Anchorman!? I feel like that movie was utterly unavoidable for awhile.
I'm right there with you, I just assumed you were making an Anchorman reference/joke... I never thought there were people out there who would unironically say that
I don't remember every line of every film I've ever seen, no.
Is that a new marvel superhero ?
Nah. First question is “do you have insurance?”
Thats just the US though.
Edit: I did go to the hospital emergency room here in the US once and before ever talking to a doctor in a room, laying on a medical bed I was asked to sign forms by somebody whose whole job was to collect insurance info and make people sign waivers under duress.
I can't imagine those waivers hold up in court so the entire goal of presenting them is probably to intimidate people
That’s important because if the person is pregnant, treatment with prescription medication can be fatal for the child. They usually ask about sexual activity because it’s possible the person doesn’t even know they’re pregnant.
Men do not get asked this question because as you may or may not know, biological males are incapable of becoming pregnant. /s
I don't think I've ever been asked this, except sometimes on intake forms for some reason.
"OH i see you have a giant hole in your leg which is the portal of Satan.... anyways are you sexually active? just pee in the cup. Could be a side effect of being pregnant or menopause"
