16 nurses pregnant in Arizona hospital's ICU

Megan Knowles -

Mesa, Ariz.-based Banner Desert Medical Center is seeing a baby boom in its intensive care unit, with 16 of the unit's nurses pregnant at the same time, CNN reports.

Although some of the nurses were aware a few coworkers had received fertility treatments, the pregnancies are a coincidence, the nurses said.

The hospital has been preparing to be short-staffed for months, a Banner official told CNN. The nurses are due between September and February, and they will each be on maternity leave for 12 weeks after giving birth.

"The 16 nurses are from three different critical care units," Heather Francis, director of nursing for Banner Desert's trauma neural ICU and medical ICU, told CNN.

The hospital gave each of the pregnant nurses a onesie boasting the phrase "Relax... my mom is a Banner Nurse!" to celebrate the occasion.

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