16 nurses from same Arizona intensive care unit pregnant at same time
‘It’s nice to share stories and have that support’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A group of 16 nurses working in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Banner Desert Medical Centre in Mesa, Arizona have astounded co-workers by all becoming pregnant at the same time.
The nurses only discovered how many of them were simultaneously expecting children when they all happened to join a Facebook group chat for pregnant workers at the hospital.
According to nurse Ashley Atkins, the sheer volume of pregnant nurses in the same department of the hospital has left staff wondering “what’s in the water.”
Ms Atkins explained to CBS-affiliated TV station KPHO-TV how the discovery has brought the nurses closer together.
“This isn’t an easy job to have when you’re pregnant and not feeling well all the time, so it’s nice to share stories and have that support, and then you find out how supportive your co-workers are of you, and your management team, so it’s been a good experience,” she said.
Most of the nurses are due to give birth at some point between October and January.
While some may think that the absence of the nurses after they give birth may cause complications for the ICU, the hospital is well-prepared for the eventuality.
“We’ve been planning this for months, so we feel very confident that we’re going to have plenty of ICU nurses to take care of patients,” explained Heather Francis, nursing director at the hospital.
While the nurses will continue working as long as they can throughout their pregnancies, there are certain precautions that they now have to take in order to look after the health of their babies.
“Certain infections, and then also chemotherapy drugs, can be very toxic to the foetus,” said Ms Francis.
The nurses have stated that they frequently visit the hospital’s cafeteria together and that some patients at the hospital have expressed confusion over the quantity of pregnant nurses in the ICU.
A nurse revealed that one patient had been quite bewildered, asking her: “Are you all pregnant?” while staying in the hospital.
A number of people have been expressing their astonishment over the situation on social media, with one person writing: “The new season of Grey’s Anatomy is crazy.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments