The MemorialCare Center for Women at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach gave the ultimate “stocking stuffers” to the season’s newest parents – their babies wrapped in giant red Christmas stockings.
The holiday season is filled with giving but today at the MemorialCare Center for Women at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach and Long Beach Memorial the ultimate “stocking stuffers” were given to the season’s newest parents – their babies wrapped in giant red Christmas stockings.
For more than 50 years, Miller Children’s has continued the tradition of bundling children born at Christmas time in soft, furry holiday stockings as a way of celebrating with families and welcoming the holiday babies into the world. Approximately 25 babies born between Dec. 21 and Dec. 25 at Miller Children’s will go home wrapped in the iconic red stockings. Parents and their families at Miller Children’s are always surprised and delighted at the special touch provided to their very own Christmas miracle.
“I have helped put babies in stockings for more than 30 years now and I absolutely love this time of year and being able to give our families their newborns in stockings,” says Marilyn Rodriguez, RN, director of clinical operations, MemorialCare Center for Women. “It makes our families so happy and all of our nurses love giving families their babies wrapped in stockings.”
Rated as one of the safest places to have a baby by the State of California and Fit Pregnancy Magazine, the MemorialCare Center for Women at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach and Long Beach Memorial provides compassionate quality health care for expectant mothers. The Center offers a comprehensive program of research, treatment, educational resources, family classes and individual and family support programs. It also has spacious state-of-the-art private birthing suites and postpartum unit.
The Center offers a newly renovated Perinatal Special Care Unit with a leading high-risk perinatal program providing constant monitoring of mother and baby, while the baby grows as much as possible in the stable environment of the womb. The high-risk program is designed to ensure a safe delivery and smooth transition to the level III (tertiary) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Miller Children’s – keeping mom and baby together under one roof. A high-risk maternal transport program is available, around the clock, and 24/7 lactation support is available for mothers to ensure a smooth breastfeeding experience. Education classes, resources and family support programs are available for women that are in the early and late stages of pregnancy and after the baby has been born. With exceptional facilities, expert staff and high-quality care, nearly 6,000 families trust the MemorialCare Center for Women to safely deliver their babies every year.