Bemidji Baby Boom: 10 labor & delivery nurses pregnant at the same time
BEMIDJI, Minn. (Valley News Live) - A group of labor and delivery nurses at Sanford Bemidji is celebrating several special deliveries. Ten nurses were all pregnant at the same time.
“At the time, it didn’t even occur to me how many people there were. Every time you meet somebody in the hallway, they’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh, did you hear so-and-so is pregnant?’ Every day it felt like you heard somebody new is pregnant,” said Sierra Wiegman, one of the nurses.
Wiegman is the mother to the youngest of the crew, six-week-old Emmalee. The oldest of the bunch just turned eight months old. Some of the babies were surprises. Others were a long time coming. One of the nurses tells us she and her husband had been trying for their baby for two and a half years.
Working as each other’s nurses, the group is now bonded much tighter than just coworkers.
“It was 100% a support system, constantly talking to each other during pregnancy and even now after pregnancy trying to meet up and talk about sleep schedules, feeding schedules and breastfeeding. Supporting each other just like we do at work,” said Seher Hovestol, mother of five-month-old Reece.
“All of us were like, ‘What did you do that worked for morning sickness? Are you able to sleep at night? What did you do to make your back feel better?’ Now it’s like, ‘How long do they sleep at night? No more than two hours? Are they eating this much?’” said Abby Sorenson, mother of six-week-old Bennett.
As for work itself, Sanford has other nurses to cover, but they’ll no doubt be happy when this crew is back. The women say their boss’ response to the pregnancy announcements was eventually, “Really? Another one?”
They each get six months maternity leave, and the baby boom may just keep on going.
“We joke around like, ‘Oh, you drank the water,’ as soon as everybody would announce they’re pregnant, or like, ‘Oh, you drank the water at work.’ And yeah, still, people are drinking the water at work and still getting pregnant,” sad Hovestol.
They say at least five more labor and delivery nurses are now pregnant.
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