Christmas cheer is here along with newborn babies in stockings at the Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach. This year marks the 61-year tradition of newborn babies being sent home in commemorative stockings. The stockings are given to babies born between Friday, Dec. 22 and Tuesday, Dec. 26, and serve as a special keepsake for the family.
Nurses and families wheeled out the newborn babies to the nursery in their rolling basinets, all lined up inside of giant red stockings. Families were able to take their first family photos along with their tiny newborn.
“Zahira really is a Christmas present to us and the whole family this year,” said Rajeeyah Johnson, Zahira’s mom. “She came a little late this year, but she is a present worth waiting for. And to be able to celebrate her in this special way with her in a stocking is even better.”
The Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center delivers more than 5,500 babies a year. In addition to top-quality labor and delivery care, the BirthCare Center offers comprehensive programs for screening, diagnosis and treatment of newborns with a range of preventive services, education and advanced capabilities. Validating this quality of care, is a recent “High Performing” rating in Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report, which is the highest award a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.
“Through this cherished tradition, we’ve created long-lasting memories for our families and staff,” says Jeanie Mattern, RN, clinical operations director of the postpartum care unit at the center. “The excitement and anticipation of seeing these precious babies nestled in red and white stockings unites us in celebration of not only Christmas, but new life.”
