Bangor Hospital Pushes Through Massive 36-Hour Baby Boom

'So, what did you do at work today?'

I've asked and answered that question a million times. More often than not, my response is pretty stock and predictable. Rarely do I have anything truly out-of-the-ordinary happen to me. I stand in a little room most of the day talking into a microphone or sit at a little desk, rattling away on a keyboard.

But people in the front lines of the healthcare field, probably have so many stories day to day about their job that they can't even remember half of what happens. And I'd assume that's kind of an average day. When things have an opportunity to blossom into a way above-average day, I can't even imagine what that must be like.

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March 4th & 5th were not an average day in the EMMC Labor and Delivery Dept.

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Normally, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center would deliver maybe 4 or 5 babies. Not that I have any clue in the world what goes into delivering a baby, but that sounds reasonable. In a 36-hour span from March 4-5, a whopping 19 babies were born in 36 hours. Jen Sedgwick, BSN, RNC-OB, assistant nurse manager of Labor and Delivery and OB/GYN said this:

We usually average 130 deliveries a month, but within the first week of March, we’ve had 43 deliveries. Our staff, as well as staff from other departments, have pulled together to support this unusual surge and care for all our patients and families.

You can do the math... Even if they were coming consecutively, that's pretty much a baby every two hours. But I imagine it was probably more like a busy restaurant on a Saturday night. Probably people who were already at their table, maybe a few people at the bar, and some on their way out. In all, 15 boys and 5 girls were born, with one arriving literally just barely into the 37th hour.

One can only speculate how this happened... Well, kinda.

Napadon Srisawang

I mean, we all know the birds and the bees. But, if one were to look back at the weather in say... June of 2023, the weather was atrocious. 16 out of 30 days had no sun at all, and most of those rained. There were a few sunny days, but not much. All in all, June offered many, many opportunities to stay inside and do "nothing". Wink, wink.

Lastly, the staff in the Northern Light EMMC Labor and Delivery department really deserves a huge shout-out. Handling that kind of push (no pun intended, well...) is nothing short of amazing. I'm sure it was equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. But look at all the little bundles of joy that arrived because of it. Well done!

Everyone needs a little comfort food after such and experience. Here's a bunch of favorites...