TROY, Mich. – If you happen to be at Beaumont Hospital in Troy, you might notice something about its nurses. Eleven women are pregnant in one department, and they share an incredible bond that will last a lifetime.
Pregnancy is expected in the labor and delivery department of the hospital, but it's unusual to see so many nurses pregnant at the same time.
"Every two to three weeks until June somebody is due," nurse Stephanie Peraino said.
"Some were planned, others unplanned," nurse Nadia Saleh said. "It worked out this way."
"A lot of us announced on social media and people started popping out of the woodwork," Peraino said.
"It's just the age and when we got hired and we're in the same family planning part of our lives," Saleh said.
Working 12-hour shifts while pregnant is challenging, but the nurses said they have each other to lean on.
"I think it helps that we work in labor, so we all know the inside scoop," Peraino said. "There's no censoring on our conversations, from symptoms to how we're feeling, we just blurt everything out."
"We all understand we have good shifts and bad shifts," Saleh said. "Some days are a little easier than others."
The first baby is due next month, and the nurses are already thinking ahead.
"I look forward to the day the kids are graduating from high school and we're all going through the same thing again," Saleh said.
All 11 women will give birth at Beaumont hospitals in Troy and Royal Oak.
Two women will have cesarean sections on the same day, and six go to the same doctor.