Nurses in Neonatal Unit Have Their Own Baby Boom

Nurses who spend their working hours caring for newborns at a Kansas City hospital, one nurse said, "do it because we love the babies." That's especially fortunate, because just this year, 36 of the nurses are themselves giving birth. The baby boom at Children's Mercy's neonatal intensive care unit began Jan. 7 with the birth of Allison Ronco's son, Henry, on Jan. 7, per Good Morning America. The hospital put a photo of the mothers, their newborns, the mothers-to-be on Facebook; the post notes that 18 of the 20 children born to the nurses so far this year are boys. With so many of the nurses having children at the same time, Ronco said, "There is no shortage of parental advice among us.”

Among their newborn patients are some who are critically ill. "Most of us take our babies home as healthy babies, and to work where you help very sick babies gives you a different perspective and a whole new level of empathy,” Ronco said. Sarah Carboneau found that after giving birth to Ben in February, per GMA. Days later, he was found to have a heart defect. "I was a mess because I’ve seen a lot of things," she said. After surgery, Ben is fine. When Carboneau returned to work, she said: "There was another baby with the same diagnosis with Ben. I talked with the mom to give her some peace of mind to share Ben’s experience." The experience reaffirmed "what I do every day," Carboneau said. (More nurses stories.)