Charleen's Story

11/30/2017

As the only maternity care provider in Charlotte County, Bayfront Baby Place at Bayfront Health Port Charlotte is honored to have welcomed thousands of newborns into the world and be witness to the growth of thousands of families. For North Port residents Curtis and Charleen, the Baby Place was there to welcome their first born, but that wasn’t the first time they had both set foot in Bayfront Baby Place.

“Our experience was definitely interesting but awesome,” says Charleen on the day leading up to the birth of her first child. “We checked in during the early hours on Sept 7. Our nerves and stress levels were pretty high as Hurricane Irma was approaching as a direct hit to the west coast of Florida. And, with being first time parents, we had plenty of questions.”

However, Charleen adds that the nurses and staff truly made her and her husband feel at ease.

“They coached us through labor, were at our side the entire delivery, and after she was born, made sure everything was going well and that we were adjusting comfortably to the baby and her needs. They really had such a positive and calming demeanor making sure baby and I were both healthy and that the hurricane was an afterthought.”

What makes this day even more special is that Amelia Charlotte, born September 7 at 8:29 p.m., came into this world in the same hospital as her parents Curtis and Charleen some 30 years prior.

“Bayfront was the perfect place for us to deliver our baby as my husband and I were both born in that same hospital, formerly St Joseph’s Hospital, back in the 80s,” says Charleen. “We felt it was a special way to bring our baby into the world in the same place that both of our parents brought us into the world.”

Since then, the name has changed and the department has seen cosmetic upgrades, but Amelia very well could have spent her first couple hours and days in the same room as her mother and father spent theirs.

Charleen says she would definitely recommend Bayfront Baby Place to others. Her whole experience was positive, including the pre-natal education and support services offered even after she returned home.

“My husband and I took advantage of the CPR and childbirth and breastfeeding courses that were provided to us free of charge at Bayfront. The classes really covered all bases and answered all questions to where we left feeling so much more at ease with the entire process and what was to come. Since delivery, I have also utilized the lactation consultant on staff. She took the time to answer all of my questions and helped guide me in the right direction to having a successful breastfeeding experience after we brought Amelia home.”

Curtis, Charleen, and now Amelia are three that make up the thousands that were born at Bayfront Baby Place. Projecting to welcome an additional 1,000 babies into this world in 2017 alone, Bayfront Health looks forward to continuing to share in the stories and in making memories with families in the community.

“Between the hurricane and having our child in the same hospital that we were both born, we have such a unique but wonderful story to tell our child when she grows up and hope that maybe one day she will have her baby there too.”

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