Nursing moms
14 Mass. General Hospital oncology nurses pregnant
A group of nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital will soon be temporarily trading in their stethoscopes for diapers and bottles — 14 of them are pregnant and each due within about six months of each other.
The oncology nurses are part of a staff of 90 that all work on the Lunder 10 floor at MGH treating leukemia and bone marrow cancer patients.
Farren Richardson, who is expecting her second daughter in September, said she and her fellow nurses didn’t plan the pregnancies around each other despite being close friends and colleagues.
“We didn’t realize how many of us are pregnant until someone sat down one day and really counted all of us,” said Richardson, adding that many of the nurses also got married around the same time, which could account for the timing of the pregnancies.
“Everyone keeps saying there’s something in the water on Lunder 10 and don’t drink it if you don’t want to have a baby,” said Richardson, who has worked on the floor for eight years.
The mothers are all due between May and November, according to an MGH spokeswoman, with one nurse expecting twins and another who is already past her May 18 due date.
“Pregnancy is hard and it can be tough, you’re tired and you’re trying to take care of patients but it’s really good to have so many supportive colleagues and best friends going through this at the same time,” Richardson said.
Deirdre Smith, who is having a boy in August, said patients have certainly taken notice of all the pregnant bellies.
“The patients are also excited because it’s a cancer unit and it gives them something positive to look forward to,” Smith said.
“With all the sadness we sometimes experience, this has been a happy experience,” Richardson said. “Our patients take joy in seeing us all walk around pregnant.”