Labor and delivery unit experiences baby boom among its own staff

A hospital in Kansas is experiencing a baby boom, not among patients, but among its own staff.

In the past 11 months, 16 staff members at The University of Kansas Health System's Olathe Medical Center have announced their pregnancies, according to the health system.

The 16 staff members all work in obstetrics at the medical center's labor and delivery unit, known as The Birth Place.

Bethany Walters, one of the 16 pregnant staff members, said it has been "a blast" to go through her pregnancy alongside so many coworkers.

"There's a lot of us this time, and a lot of them are really great friends outside of work too," Walters, a registered nurse, said in a video shared by the health system. "So being able to bond at work and have our journeys go on together, but then also outside of work our kiddos are also friends, it's just been a blast."

Walters, who is expecting her second child, said patients have noticed the large number of pregnant staff in the unit, with many of them saying, "You too?" when she walks in their room.

"Everyone is noticing ... that there are lot of us pregnant here," she said. "It's nice to kind of bond with them, because obviously I'm going through what they are just finishing up."

While there have been many headline-making instances of coworkers pregnant at the same time over the years, doctors say there is no way to medically explain the phenomenon.

The question on everyone's minds: Could there really be something in the water at these workplaces?

"More likely, I think it's people who are around the same age, going through the same thing, and they see people getting pregnant and being able to handle it," Dr. Joanne Stone, director of maternal-fetal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, told ABC News previously, when 11 labor and delivery nurses were pregnant at the same time at an Ohio hospital. "It's more of an atmospheric thing than there's any medical reason for it."

Stone said baby booms are more likely a sign that the women and men's employers are doing something right, in providing a positive workplace environment for expectant parents.

"Unfortunately, there are some where [pregnancy] is looked down upon," she added.

Scientific or not, it is still beneficial for the expectant mothers, Stone added.

"I think it's always nice to get that support and to be able to share how you feel and to feel validated -- to not feel so bad if you're tired and you need to put your feet up for a moment," she said. "Everyone understands. It's a positive feeling."