11 staffers at a hospital are all pregnant at the same time. They joke there's 'something in the water.'

• No fewer than 11 hospital staffers in the same unit were expecting babies at the same time.
• One of the kids — a little boy — was born in May.

Serena Swanson, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, couldn't help but guess why her colleague Grace McManus, a certified surgical technologist, rushed out of the operating room during one of their shifts.

"She looked green," Swanson, who was about 25 weeks' pregnant at the time, told Insider. "Usually, if you have to leave the OR for whatever reason, you have to ask permission."

The 33-year-old added, "It wasn't like Grace to leave like that."

Swanson's pregnancy radar went into overdrive

When she was ready, McManus revealed she'd been suffering from morning sickness. Swanson's hunch was right.

Her pregnancy radar had gone into overdrive. Coworker after coworker announced they were expecting babies.

It turned out that no fewer than 11 women in the special-surgery unit at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire, had gotten pregnant at the same time. Swanson gave birth to her son, Everett, earlier this month.

"We called ourselves the preglets," Alexa Hayes, a CRNA like Swanson, said. "We'd joke that there was something in the water. Don't drink the water."

Hayes is due in September, while her colleague Jenny Miles, a registered nurse, is due next month. Jen Jones, another CRNA, is due in July, while Emily Piche, a post-anesthesia-care unit RN, and Sasha Thomas, the fourth CRNA, are due in August.

All but 2 of the hospital staffers were first-time moms-to-be

McManus and her fellow surgical technologist Madison Smeal are due in September, along with Hayes. Then Elizabeth Sullivan, an anesthesia technologist, and Justine Brennan, an endoscopy RN, are expected to bring up the rear in October.

Swanson said that three of the moms-to-be had found out they were carrying boys, like she had been. Another four discovered they were pregnant with girls. Two of the women had decided to wait to find out their babies' genders until their births. All but two were first-time moms-to-be.

"I burst into tears when my friend Jen, who'd been actively trying to get pregnant, told me that she was having a boy," Swanson said. "It was a combination of hormones and joy."

She said that the staffers — who were between ages 23 and 35 — bonded over their mutual pregnancies.

"We've had some great conversations," the mom said. "We've been comparing notes and giving each other tips and tricks."

Hayes believes the babies were partly a result of the staff feeling more relaxed post-COVID crisis

Hayes, who has a 16-month-old daughter, suggested that the baby boom was somewhat inevitable. She said that members of the team — mostly first-time moms — were able to "take some time" for themselves after working so hard earlier in the pandemic.

"Now it's post-COVID, I think we're all in a good place professionally and relationshipwise," she added.

She said that most of the women had different managers. Therefore, she said, when they revealed their pregnancies, the managers didn't worry too much about securing cover for when they were out on maternity leave.

Meanwhile, Swanson, who gave birth at Wentworth-Douglass, said there had been a lot of excitement among patients who got to spot bump after bump.

Swanson thinks that the coworkers and their babies will form an 'unofficial' playgroup

"Our scrubs were baggy, so it took awhile for some people to notice," Swanson said.

She added that one person busted her because she needed help to push a 300-pound patient on a stretcher into the operating room.

As for the future, Swanson predicted that the 11 moms would likely form an "unofficial play group."

She said: "It's great that our babies will all be the same age and born the same year."

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