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“It’s hard to put into words what this hospital and its Labor & Delivery unit mean to me because for years, I stood on this unit on the other side of the bed.
I was a labor and delivery nurse here, and later a women’s health nurse practitioner. I watched women become mothers. I held hands, calmed fears, celebrated births, and witnessed some of the most important moments in families’ lives. I knew the nurses and providers here were exceptional. I knew this unit was special.
But I don’t think I truly understood what that meant until I was the one in the bed.
When it came time to choose where I would have my own baby, there was never really a choice. I drove 45 miles down the Garden State Parkway because this was where I wanted to be. I wanted to be surrounded by the people I trusted most during one of the most vulnerable and important moments of my life.
And somehow, the experience meant even more than I imagined it would.
There is an indescribable feeling that comes with becoming the patient after spending your career being the nurse and the provider. I knew too much. I knew all of the things that could happen, all of the things we watch for, all of the reasons to worry. But when I looked around that room and saw the faces of people I had once worked beside, I realized I could finally let all of that go.
I didn’t have to be the nurse.
I didn’t have to be the NP.
I just got to be his mom.
And I don’t know that the people who cared for me will ever fully understand what a gift that was. Every reassuring word, every hand on my shoulder, every quiet check-in, every hug, every laugh, and every moment of celebration became part of the story of the day our baby entered the world.
There are moments from those days that I know will stay with me for the rest of my life. Looking around the room and realizing that the people helping me bring my son safely into the world were people I had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with caring for other mothers is something I will never be able to adequately describe.
For years, I watched this team give that kind of care to other families.
Then it was my family.
Then it was my baby in their hands.
And suddenly I understood.
The people who are present when your child enters the world become part of your story forever. They may go on to another room, another patient, another delivery, but for that family, those moments are once in a lifetime. I hope everyone who cared for us knows that what may have felt like another day at work to them became some of the most sacred memories of our lives.
I walked onto this unit having once been their colleague. I left as a mother.
I already knew how extraordinary these people were at their jobs. Now I know what it feels like to place the most precious thing in your entire world into their hands and know, without question, that he is safe.
There will never be enough words for that kind of gratitude.
To every single person who cared for me, Dr. Hyman, Dr. Principe, Elisabetta, Mara, Annie,Dr Sultan, Justyna, Stephanie, Phyllis. Cared for our son, Dr Calley, Josefine, Dr Velez, Nilda, Lydia, Florine, Ailyn and for everyone else who held my hand, eased my fears, made me laugh, celebrated with us, and gave our family such a beautiful beginning: thank you.
I spent years being proud to say that I worked here. Now I will forever be grateful to say that this is where I became his mom. For anyone searching for where to entrust one of the most important days of their life, look no further than Hoboken.”
-Whitney, Ryan and Shepherd Hamilton
