Her: You should not be using the computer!
Me: <genuinely bewildered> Why?
Her: Because you’re pregnant.
Me: So why can’t I use a computer?
Her: <gesturing wildly to my abdomen and speaking as though I was either hard of hearing or unable to understand English> Because. You’re. Pregnant.
Me: What are the risks of using a desktop computer while pregnant?
Her: All the energy and radiation! It hurts the baby!
Me: I’m not being bombarded by radiation from a computer two feet away. And, by the way, there has never been a documented incidence of a fetus being injured by the radiation of an x-ray–we only avoid it because of the inferred risks, which are more of a concern when you’re 9 weeks rather than 39 weeks pregnant–let alone the visible light and heat given off by a computer.
Did I go too far? I tried to be patient. It’s comical but still irksome. Not quite sure what bothers me more: that she felt compelled to chastise a very pregnant stranger or that this level of ignorance is present in the library of a medical school. Am I being patronizing? Be real with me.
anna in med school 