I recently had a young woman come into my care. She was thirteen weeks pregnant. As part of my initial assessment I asked "Is this your first child?" She nodded in agreement and I continued on through the rest of my task.
For some reason this short exchange remained on my mind...perhaps because the previous day I had a patient who had just undergone a D & C. Was my question politically correct? Likely not. People have differing opinions as to life in the womb. Would it be better to ask, "Is this your first fetus?" Probably, if you want political correctness. But to my ears it simply sounds cold.
What do women want to hear? Does it depend on cirmcumstances? If the tissue in the womb is wanted or not?
You could also say "is this your first pregnancy?" I agree with you that "first fetus" sounds cold and odd.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been thinking that "pregnancy" would be the best option. Thanks for that.
Delete