To coin an old phrase, there must be something in the water at Wingham and Valley Vets.
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There seems to have been an extraordinarily fertile phase at the Wingham veterinary clinic, as five female employees announced their pregnancies within a week or two of each other. Well, all but one, who had announced her pregnancy a little earlier.
"Everyone was really excited for each subsequent person," said practice director and veterinarian Alissa Healy, herself one of the five mothers.
"I think everyone was just really happy. But they couldn't believe it when there's just one after the other. A couple of them were a real surprise - they would never have thought they were going to have any more (children), and they were both expecting at once!"
Just imagine the problem of having five employees off on maternity leave at once - one vet, two nurses, and two receptionists.
"Luckily I had two friends who are really experienced nurses and they were really keen to move up here and work with us," Alissa said.
It's really nice to see the clinic's little family growing.
- Alissa Healy, director Wingham and Valley Vets
"And when we talked about it, I was thinking, gee, how am I ever going to have the space in the roster for two full time nurses, and then this happened! So we really couldn't have done without them."
The babies' ages range from five to 10 months, one boy and four girls - a ready made in-house mothers' group. While most of them see each other in the clinic, they meet socially once a fortnight for coffee at the Garden Grub.
"It's been really nice to have babies at the same time as your friends and workmates," Alissa said.
"It adds an extra level of support to everyone; so many people are going through the same thing.
"It's really nice to see the clinic's little family growing."