Local nurses celebrate ‘sisterhood of pregnancies’ after a challenging year

March 18, 2021 6:59 PM

Esther Bower,

Posted: March 18, 2021 6:59 PM

by Esther Bower

SPOKANE, Wash. — 12 nurses at Providence Holy Family Hospital are welcoming new bundles of joy to their families. It’s been a challenging year for healthcare workers, so the baby boom was welcomed with open hearts.

“I don’t think anyone expected especially our unit to have this type of baby boom, but for a year that’s been kind of unimaginable, not only as a nurse but life in general, it’s brought a lot of joy to all of us,” said Sara Rad.

Rad just delivered her third baby, Canyon, and is on maternity leave right now. She says all the nurses work in close quarters together, so it was kind of hard to hide the pregnancies, and they decided to start keeping track.

“It’s been a bright spot in a really kind of stressful year to just have something really positive to look forward to, and life goes on whether we have Covid or are in a pandemic or not,” said Peyton Johnson, who’s expecting a baby boy.

This will be Johnson’s first baby. She’s loved getting to go through this experience with a newfound family by her side.

“It’s like a cool girl club, and it’s the most unique one, and as an only child, I don’t have siblings,” Johnson said. “It’s just been really cool to just have this kind of sisterhood of people.”

Nurses have had to take on new roles during the Pandemic. Only one person is allowed in delivery rooms at once now, so nurses are Facetiming family members, taking photos and just helping moms have special deliveries, no matter how different they are.

“Getting to step in and really be that support person for people that need it is at the core. I want to develop that relationship with my patients,” Johnson said. “I want them to be able to trust me and know that I have their baby and their best interest at heart.”

The hospital usually delivers around 1,200 babies a year, but they have seen a decrease in deliveries. Six of the 12 pregnancies are first time moms, so the nurses have been able to bounce ideas and questions off one another.

The hospital also doesn’t expect all the nurse’s deliveries to throw off the scheduling of other moms who are having babies at Holy Family.