Nurit Schatz: "Mother Who Gave Birth to Her 19th Child Looked Like After Her First"

About two years ago, Nurit Schatz decided to volunteer. It was when she was between two jobs. "I wanted to volunteer, to do something good in life, and decided I was going to do it in the happiest place. What could be happier than the maternity ward and delivery rooms? That's how I arrived at Hadassah hospital."

Until then, Nurit notes, maternity wards and delivery rooms were closed to people not affiliated with the medical staff. However, during that period, they decided to allow her and a few other women to enter to assist new mothers. This, of course, was done in an organized and supervised manner, maintaining the privacy of the mothers and providing appropriate training for the volunteers. "We became a group and distributed shifts and volunteer times among ourselves," she explains. "My volunteering session, for example, was on Thursday nights. That was my shift, and no matter what – winter, snow, wind, summer, holidays, whatever it might be, my family knew I left my home in Modiin Illit to volunteer at Hadassah regularly."

The Goal: Supporting Women

Over time, the initial group expanded, and today it includes over 20 women volunteers who visit not only the delivery rooms but also the maternity wards, high-risk pregnancy departments, and fertility treatment sections. "Our goal is to provide support in everything the women need," Nurit explains. "But unlike all the other volunteers who come to the hospital to help the medical staff, we come from a reverse approach – to help the women first and foremost, and only if possible do we assist the staff."

But aren't the women usually accompanied by a husband or some close figure during delivery?

"Not necessarily," claims Nurit. "Some women arrive at the hospital straight from work, and the husband or mother doesn't make it in time to accompany them. There are also women who have gone through the delivery successfully, and the husband has returned home to take care of the kids, while they need someone to be with them and assist them. It is important to me to emphasize that all of us, all the volunteers, are religiously observant. Of course, we assist women from all sectors, anyone who needs help, but we have special awareness and sensitivity regarding halachic matters and issues concerning women from the religious sector. This is very, very important."

Do you have professional knowledge?

"No, our idea is not to train doulas or labor assistants. We are not medical or nursing staff and do not intervene in professional medical procedures anyway. But of course, if a woman needs support during labor or asks for help, we always strive to lend a hand and support. The goal is to provide assistance in whatever is possible – that is not medical or nursing. The knowledge is built from experience, as we are women who have given birth and experienced delivery rooms and maternity wards."

Great Excitement

Nurit mentions that even though their goal is to assist women, often they find themselves the ones gaining from this volunteering experience. "One of the volunteers," she recounts, "a mother of eight children and grandmother of ten, a truly amazing woman, shared that during one volunteering experience, she accompanied a woman during labor. The woman, outwardly, did not appear observant, but when the baby was born, she was so moved that she asked our volunteer how she could thank Hashem for the gift she received. The volunteer suggested she recite Nishmat Kol Chai, and indeed, she and her husband recited it together, which was extremely moving. Later, the new mother continued to inquire about the bris and the halachot that should be known, and recently she has become very strengthened in her faith, even wearing a head covering now. It is so moving...

"Another case I was fortunate to accompany closely," Nurit adds, "was of a new mother who had been hospitalized for many months before delivery in the high-risk pregnancy department. She had been waiting for a baby for many years, and the excitement was tremendous. Eventually, the baby was born on time. I saw her recently, half a year after the birth, and she told me she has no idea if she would have remained sane and been able to raise her baby had it not been for our volunteering at her side during her hospitalization. It was what gave her the strength and ability to survive."

On the other hand, Nurit shares that recently a woman arrived at the hospital who gave birth to her 19th child. "She is a resident of Mea Shearim, and we were so happy to assist and help her. I met her after the birth in the maternity ward along with her husband. It warmed my heart to see both of them standing by the baby as if they had just welcomed their firstborn. When I asked her about it, she smiled and said, "We've been waiting for this child for almost 30 years..."

"Because that's the goal for me and the rest of the volunteers in the department," she concludes. "We want to volunteer in happy places because sometimes, they often need help and support to maintain that joy. I feel it is truly a privilege."