As the world marks International Nurses Week alongside Mother’s Day, attention turns to mothers in scrubs, women whose lives revolve around caring for others both at work and at home. For many nurses, motherhood does not end when a hospital shift is over.
It continues in maternity wards, emergency rooms, paediatric units, and later at home, where families still depend on them.
“Nursing never really stops when you are a mother,” says veteran nurse Josephine Kadenyeka Onzere. “You leave the hospital after caring for patients all day, then go home and continue caring for your own children and family.”
Nursing remains one of the most demanding professions in healthcare.
Long working hours, emotional pressure, night shifts, and staff shortages often leave nurses physically and mentally exhausted. For mothers in the profession, the burden is even heavier as they balance hospital duties with responsibilities at home.
“Some days you barely sleep,” Onzere says. “You finish a night shift and still have to prepare children for school, cook, help with homework, and be emotionally available for your family.”
Retired nurse Elizabeth Ndalo Mugasia understands these sacrifices well after spending more than four decades serving patients.
Mugasia trained at Kaimosi Mission Hospital before advancing her studies in midwifery at Pumwani Maternity Hospital. She later worked at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital and eventually returned to Kaimosi Mission Hospital, where she served until retiring in 2015.
Reflecting on her career, Mugasia says the hardest moments came when patients could not be saved, especially children.
“Whenever a patient died, I always felt like maybe I could have done more,” she recalls. “Losing babies was the most painful part of nursing for me.”
Despite the emotional toll, she says the profession also brought deep fulfilment through helping mothers and newborns during some of life’s most delicate moments.
“When you see a mother leave the hospital smiling with a healthy baby, you feel proud because you know you played a part in that journey,” Mugasia says.
For many nurse mothers, balancing work and family often means sacrificing important personal moments. Birthdays, holidays, school events, and family gatherings are frequently missed because duty calls.
“There are times your child asks why you are always away,” says Onzere. “Those moments are painful, but you also know patients are depending on you.”
Working with Medical and Educational Aid to Kenya, Onzere has spent 20 years helping restore eyesight to patients in underserved communities through free treatment and surgeries. She says nursing requires resilience, compassion, and sacrifice.
“As nurses, we hold hands through fear, respond to emergencies, and comfort families during difficult moments,” she says. “Even when we are tired, we still show up because patients need us.”
Beyond hospitals, nurse mothers also serve as trusted sources of guidance in their communities, educating families on nutrition, maternal health, vaccinations, and child care.
As Mother’s Day and International Nurses Week are celebrated, healthcare advocates continue calling for better support systems for nurses, including flexible schedules, mental health support, and family-friendly workplace policies.
Mugasia believes younger nurses must continue embracing compassion despite the challenges in the profession. “Nursing is a calling that needs patience, love, and sacrifice,” she says. “Sometimes your kindness and care are what give patients hope to keep fighting.”
For mothers in scrubs, caregiving is more than a profession. It is a lifelong commitment carried both in their hearts and in the work they do every day.