BALTIMORE, Md. — Every day, Christen Ierardi prepares incubators, monitors fragile newborns and supports families in the neonatal intensive care unit at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital.
But long before she became a NICU nurse, she was one of the babies receiving care there.
As hospitals across the country recognize NICU Awareness Month in September, Ierardi's story highlights the lasting impact neonatal care can have on patients and families.
Ierardi and her twin sister were born at 36 weeks and both spent time in the NICU at Ascension Saint Agnes.
"My mom had a complicated pregnancy," Ierardi said. "I was here for 10 days, and my sister was here almost three months."
It's a story she heard a lot about growing up.
"Looking back on those pictures and hearing how well we were taken care of and how comfortable my mom was having to leave her babies here, I was like, 'That's a cool job,'" she said.
By middle school, Ierardi knew she wanted to pursue nursing. She became a certified nursing assistant while still in high school, completed nursing school and later applied for a position in the very NICU where she spent her earliest days.
"The hiring manager was actually one of the nurses who took care of us," Ierardi said. "One of the nurse practitioners was one of our nurses. One of our doctors took care of us."
Today, she works alongside healthcare professionals who helped care for her as an infant. She and her fellow nurses take special care to walk families through the process.
"Every baby that we care for is a little extension of yourself, and you see them as kind of like your own," she said.
The work brings both joyful moments and heartbreak: caring for tiny patients while parents wait for them to be healthy enough to come home.
"That parent who no longer has their baby with them as you thought you would," Ierardi said. "That was a challenge, something I couldn't fully understand until experiencing that."
Four years ago, her perspective shifted even further when she returned to Ascension Saint Agnes not as a nurse, but as a parent.
Her newborn son developed an infection and experienced breathing difficulties shortly after birth, requiring a weeklong stay in the NICU with many of Ierardi's coworkers caring for him.
"There was always that confidence that he was in wonderful hands," she said. "But that separation was something I can't even put into words."
The experience shaped the way she cares for parents today.
"Explaining, 'I've been there, and he's gonna get home to you. What can I do to make it a little bit easier?'" she said. "It enhanced my connection to parents and meeting their needs a little bit more."
As NICU Awareness Month shines a spotlight on the challenges families face and the healthcare professionals who support them, Ierardi hopes people recognize the compassion that fills neonatal intensive care units every day.
"There's a lot of bright sides to every story," she said. "We're here to help, and we're here to hold hands, and they're fighters. They're the best patients."
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