“While my son Jordan was in the NICU, my husband would drop me off first thing in the morning and I would spend all day there til he picked me up at night. The nurses never made me feel like I was in the way. They let me bring in a speaker so I could play Jordan the songs we played for him while I was pregnant. That’s why the Magee nurses are near and dear to my heart. I know they are overworked and underpaid. UPMC’s lack of response is part of a larger societal tackle of money over people. It’s a shame. They take care of us in our most vulnerable moments, and it’s important they are taken care of now.”

“I was a first-time mom at Magee who went from an uneventful pregnancy to being rushed into triage. So many nurses extended themselves to keep me calm. They stayed with me, checked in on me, and answered every concern with care and compassion — all in spite of the pressure they were under. It’s clear our nurses are stretched too thin to provide the care every woman deserves when she is at her most vulnerable. Thank you for holding the line. Thank you for fighting for fair treatment, and for standing against a system that chases bigger profits at the cost of your wellbeing and our care. I am with you!”

“I wish UPMC would focus on work practices that allow nurses to spend more time with patients and manage fewer patients simultaneously. I would have liked to have been able to spend more time with a lactation consultant – it was difficult to learn to breastfeed when the nurses seemed rushed and only had a few minutes to provide guidance, which also created a sense of stress and pressure. After going through the experience twice now, and everything I've learned about breastfeeding, I believe that each patient probably needs two to three 30-minute sessions with a lactation consultant, if they are a first time mother. Instead I had one short lactation consultation during my first post partum stay. The way things are done now can make patients feel that they are instantly failing at motherhood when they have just begun. It’s so important to support new mothers in developing this new skill.”