Melissa Peters

Over her 20 years as a Labour and Delivery nurse at Joseph Brant Hospital, Melissa Peters has been there for many of life’s most incredible moments.

“I counted every delivery I was part of at the beginning, but I stopped when I hit 1,000 which was in 2004,” she said.

And of course, there are some families and birth stories that stick out, including a family who had nine children, all at JBH, and Melissa was there for three of them.

But nothing as memorable as delivering a baby in the parking lot.

“We received a call from a volunteer that someone was delivering in the parking lot, and the physician on call was performing surgery,” Melissa said.

She ran down with her care partner Tanya to determine how they could help, but they couldn’t locate the mom. Finally, they saw a man beside a van and asked him if they knew where they were needed.

“He said it was his wife, and pointed to the van,” she said. “When we opened the door the baby was already crowning, and we ended up delivering in the van before taking mom and baby upstairs to L&D.”

For Melissa, the team at JBH, and the Labour and Delivery Unit specifically, is incredibly special.

“We have an amazing team. I can’t say enough about them… we all work so well together. Everyday I’m so thankful I work where I do.”

And while Melissa and the entire L&D team wait for the redevelopment of the unit, they continue to provide compassionate care to our community in the moments that matter most.

“We’re so lucky to have Joseph Brant Hospital in our community,” she said.

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