There’s a baby boom at an Ottawa hospital and it’s not in the obstetrics unit. Seven babies have been born to nurses from the Queensway--Carleton Hospital’s medicine/surgery unit in a matter of weeks.
One of the new moms, Robyn Bonacci, says that the coworkers are all friends. “It was pretty crazy,†she says. “We all lean on each other all of the time,†she adds.
The baby boom is reminiscent of one at an Arizona hospital where 16 nurses are pregnant in its intensive care unit.
No one is sure why the staff at either hospital ended up pregnant all at once, but the joke at the Queensway--Carleton is that there’s something “in the water.â€
“We’ve heard it so many times from our patients, and our families,†says Bonacci. “Do not drink the water at the Queensway.â€
The babies range in age from about 20 weeks to five weeks old. A couple of the new moms are already getting ready to go back to work.
That’s good news for the hospital; four other nurses in the unit are currently expecting.
“I think they were a little nervous with so many of us being off because we’re not a huge unit,†said new mom Jessica McLaren.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Patricia Boal