Margaret Curtiss, RN, left, presents a cake to Hubert and Magdalena Balcewicz, and their newborn boy, Hugo.
A maternity stay at The Mount Sinai Medical Center became a little sweeter in June when staff from the Department of Nursing, Women & Children’s Services began giving new parents pink or blue birthday cakes to celebrate the arrival of their newborns.
On an average day, the nursing staff—in collaboration with Mount Sinai’s Food and Nutrition Services—gives out 21 cakes to parents and babies in the Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder Center for Maternity Care, accompanied by cards that offer congratulations. All cakes are certified OU Kosher.
“Presenting a ‘birth day’ cake to families is a wonderful way to celebrate the new life in their midst,” says Marge Lilienthal, MS, RN, CLC, NEA-BC, Associate Director of Nursing for Women & Children’s Services at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. “The parents and families have been quite surprised and excited by the cakes.”
New father Hubert Balcewicz says receiving a blue-frosted cake a day after his son Hugo was born on July 10 was a pleasant surprise. “Not only was the cake very delicious,” says Mr. Balcewicz, “but the entire experience was just amazing. The staff at Mount Sinai really cares about our family, and receiving the cake was such a nice gesture.”