The first time I saw Jen Hamilton on social media, she was attempting to swaddle a chicken like a baby to the dulcet tones of Chopin’s Nocturne op. 9 No. 2. (You’ve heard it.)
It was surprising and funny and the perfect amount of awkward, and I hit the follow button. Today, her millions of followers still get the occasional swaddle video, but Hamilton’s content is largely focused on her day job as a labor and delivery nurse: the good (cute newborns), the bad (poop on the table) and the heartbreaking (when parents come home without their babies).
She speaks passionately to nurses about the importance of listening to patients about their concerns and about advocating for mothers of color, who often receive substandard care and have the mortality rates to prove it. She educates expectant parents on how to speak up for themselves and how to make the labor and delivery experience what they want it to be, both physically and emotionally…