Special Mother's Day for 11 moms at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital: 'This is my village'
DOVER — The 11 moms of infants on Wentworth-Douglass Hospital's surgical services staff see themselves as a "village."
"There was a lot of midnight texting," said Jenn Jones, a certified registered nurse anesthetist. "I consider this my village."
Alexa Hayes, also a CRNA, agreed.
"I think that is a term we all know, but it has kind of gone by the wayside," she said. "But for us, it is big, and it happened naturally."
It's a special Mother's Day in 2024 for these women and their babies, all born between spring and fall 2023. The 11 women are confident that they can rely on each other for help, advice and companionship.
Mass General Brigham, the health-care system that includes Wentworth-Douglass, a year ago announced the 11 women were pregnant. On Tuesday this week, nine of the women, including registered nurses, nurse anesthetists, surgical technologists, anesthesia technicians and nurse practitioners, gathered together to share their lives since last year.
"Once it came out, we joked around," Hayes said. "We speculated there was something in the water. We said we need to check our birth control. We called ourselves 'preglets.' We are all really strong working women. We support our families, and we support each other. I am really proud of all of us."
Girls (seven) outnumber the boys (four), and most of the women are first-time moms. Handling their pregnancies at work was a balancing act.
"Our due dates were different," said Jenny Miles, a registered nurse. "The first was in May and the last October."
"It's hard to keep that secret for too long," Jones said. "Working where we do there are steps that needed to be taken to assure the safety of us and the babies."
Kendal Towle, a nurse practitioner, said the women have made efforts to get the babies together for play dates, but they are all busy working moms. She said the best part is being able to ask for help or bounce ideas and baby tips off each other.
"Coming back from maternity leave was hard," Towle said. "But knowing we were all in this together, that we had each other really helped."
The moms all indicated their readiness to step up for each other as babysitters. Several of the babies already get together each day at the hospital's day-care center.
For a few of the moms, this is their second child. Hayes noted those children have a unique claim — they were born during the COVID pandemic.
"This time, we didn't need to wear mask while delivering," she said. "It was very isolating. This birth was so much different, so much less stressful."
The moms were asked if they planned to do this again. Their response? Raucous laughter.
11 moms and their new babies
Serena Swanson, son, Everett, born 5/9/2023 - CRNA
Jenny Miles, daughter, Clara, born 6/22/23 - same day surgery RN
Jennifer Jones, son, Cassian, born 7/15/23 - CRNA
Kendal Towle, daughter, Kinley, born 7/24/23 - general surgery nurse practitioner
Sasha Thomas, son, born 8/22/23 - CRNA
Emily Piche, son, Henry, born 8/25/2023 - post-anesthesia care unit RN
Alexa Hayes, daughter, Quinn, born 9/4/23 - CRNA
Madison Smeal, daughter, Aubrey, born 9/7/23 - surgical scrub technician
Elizabeth Sullivan, son, Francis, born 9/14/23 - emergency room technician
Grace McManus, daughter, Lyra, born 9/25/23 - surgical scrub technician
Justine Brennan, daughter, Ollie, born 10/24/23 - endoscopy RN
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Special Mother's Day for 11 moms on Wentworth-Douglass Hospital staff
