‘It leads to a personal bond’: More than a dozen TMH nurses pregnant in delivery and family units

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Patients in the Labor & Delivery and Family Care units at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital are not the only ones with babies on the way. Nearly two dozen other nurses are sharing the pregnancy journey.

Since January 2023, about 23 nurses between the Labor and Delivery and Family Care units have gotten pregnant or given birth. At some point, 18 nurses were pregnant at the same time.

Hospital officials said these nurses have a special appreciation for what their patients are going through because they are experiencing those things, too.

“Patients are usually very excited to hear that their nurse is expecting too. It is fun to have pregnancy in common,” said Joanna Fato, a Labor & Delivery Assistant Nurse Manager who recently gave birth to her daughter. “Usually, it can lead to conversations about due dates and whether the baby is a boy or girl and that then leads to a personal bond between nurse and patient and a feeling of sisterhood.”

According to TMH, many of their nurses in these units become pregnant at the same time because they care so much about families and many of them are of childbearing age. The hospital said the labor and delivery unit experienced another baby boom 7 years ago, but 18 is a new high.

“It’s a lot of fun being pregnant with so many co-workers. It’s nice to have each other to lean on and send our questions to,” said Sarah McCarty, a Labor & Delivery Nurse due in January. “We have a good mix of first-time moms and seasoned moms so it’s fun to share tips, tricks and registry items that we have liked or disliked.

TMH said patients don’t need to worry about the units being understaffed because while these nurses are off of work caring for their new little ones, TMH will have a total of 130 nurses covering their colleagues.

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