In a few months, it’s going to be a very busy time for 17 Labor and Delivery Unit nurses in Dayton, Ohio’s Miami Valley Hospital.
Back in 2019, that same unit made headlines for 11 of its nurses being pregnant at the same time. Fast forward to 2026, and we have a new record with 17 nurses simultaneously pregnant.
Rileigh Batten, one of the moms-to-be, shared with Fox News, “I kept finding out more and more and more were pregnant with me.”
Speaking with ABC News, Amberly Saner, Miami Valley nurse manager, echoed, “It just kept growing and growing.”
A photo worth a double take
Recently, 15 of the 17 nurses gathered to take a group photo showing off their matching uniforms and baby bumps. It’s a pretty remarkable sight to behold.
The baby boom is expected to take place between June and December, as the women are on different trimester timelines. For some, it will be their first child. For others, their second.
Rileigh, for instance, will be bringing her second child into the world. This time, she plans for it to be delivered by her bestie Maddie, whom she’s worked with for five years. Yep, Maddie’s also one of the pregnant nurses. This will also be her second child.
The completely unexpected moment has created a special connection. Everyone shares tips, provides companionship, and offers support to one another. And they’re all very excited at the thought of “being able to deliver each [other’s babies],” according to Saner.
“They’re just really comfortable and they trust the people that are in that room with them when they’re delivering, and they just want them to care for them. So it’s a pretty cool thing,” she told ABC News.
The Internet couldn’t resist chiming in
The image, posted to Facebook, prompted not only a wave of congratulations, but quite a few jokes…
“Don’t drink the water in the Berry Center!!!!” one person quipped.
Someone else added, “Omg I hope they have a great pump room.”
And for those concerned that pretty soon the labor unit will be fresh out of nurses on maternity leave: the hospital boasts a pretty robust support staff.
More than coworkers
Every day, these nurses help guide families through one of life’s biggest moments. Now, many of them are preparing for that same experience themselves, surrounded by coworkers who already know exactly what the journey looks like.
Even more heartwarming is the thought that by the end of the year, the unit will have welcomed 17 new babies into a group that already feels like an extended family. Years from now, those children may get a kick out of learning that before they were even born, their moms were showing up for one another at work, celebrating milestones together, and getting ready to deliver each other’s babies.
Hopefully, this is a chapter they’ll look back on fondly for the rest of their lives.
