Wang Ke: Beating gender stereotypes and helping newborns get a start on life

Wang Ke, 23, is the only male nurse in the neonatology department at the Pudong branch of the Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital.

“Taking care of newborns requires patience, concentration and dedication,” said Wang. “None of those traits has anything to do with gender.”

Indeed, International Nurses Day on May 12 honors all those who have committed themselves to helping the sick, frail and afflicted.

Neonatology is a sub-specialty of pediatrics that covers medical care of newborn infants, especially those who are born ill or prematurely. It’s a field dominated by female nurses.

Taking care of newborns may conjure up visions of changing diapers and bottle-feeding, but Wang’s work goes far beyond that. He has to deal with babies who have special problems.

For example, a baby born on May 1 was suffering from jaundice, and Wang had to put the infant into an incubator, monitor its condition and keep careful records.

“The only way they express themselves is by crying,” said Wang of his infant charges. “You have to figure out what they want from their crying.”

When the infant in the incubator started crying loudly around 1pm, Wang took her out and lightly touched her lips with a finger to see if the infant would think it’s a mother’s nipple. After confirming that the child was indeed hungry, Wang fed her with a bottle as he held her close to his chest.

“A baby will soon calm down once it is fed and feels someone’s heartbeat,” Wang said.

Before placing the infant back in the incubator, Wang changed her diapers.

“I get used to it,” he said, with a smile. “I often have to change my nurse’s gown twice a day because of baby bowel accidents.”

The infants’ parents come to see how their newborn is getting along during afternoon visiting hours. That may include breastfeeding as part of mother-baby bonding.

“The incubators simulate the temperature and environment of the womb,” said Duan Yi, head nurse of the department. “But we can’t simulate a mother’s smell or voice.”

Wang’s days are busy. He said he was once involved with more than 60 infants on one day alone.

Some infants sent to the ward suffer life-threatening conditions like severe jaundice.

In such cases, Wang said he thinks his gender plays to advantage.

“You have to keep a calm, cool head when explaining situations to emotional parents,” he said. “Sometimes female nurses find that hard.”

In 2017, the hospital saved 96.3 percent of all prematurely delivered babies who weighed less than 1,500 grams. The most serious case involved a newborn who was only 25 weeks old.

“Technically she was still a foetus,” said Duan. “She weighed only 545 grams and her intestinal system was incomplete.”

But after incubation, the infant survived.

Wang is not qualified to take care of premature infants yet because he has worked in the ward for only 10 months. It will take at least four years before Wang is allowed to handle a premature infant all by himself.

Most of the premature infants have trouble digesting. The only way to keep them alive and growing is intravenous nutrient solution. “I have a lot to learn,” said Wang. “Thankfully, I’m still young.”

Wang’s hospital is famous for its professional nursing. Almost half of the 1,400 staff in the three branches operated by the hospital are nurses.

First career choice

Nursing was not Wang’s first career choice. In high school, he wanted to become a writer or a news anchor. But he said he finally chose nursing because it sounded like a promising major with good job prospects.

One experience during Wang’s internship changed his view on being a nurse. A dying old man grasped his hand while he was changing an infusion bottle.

“My grandson has finally come,” said the old man, with relief and happiness.

Wang was confused until the man’s family explained that his