The baby boy was just three days old when Charlene Amey brought him home. She hadn’t yet told her husband—everything had come together so quickly. That morning she was buying baby clothes, and by afternoon she was pulling up her driveway with a new baby in tow.
Born and raised in Compton, Charlene always thought she might want to become a doctor. But when she became pregnant young with her daughter, she decided to stay local and raise her daughter with her family’s support. Her daughter’s delivery became a lightbulb moment in her career path: “I still remember the nurses who were there for my delivery,” says Charlene. The attention, trust, and care that came with helping a mom bring new life into the world was unforgettable, and she realized that she wanted to become a labor and delivery nurse.
Charlene’s been a nurse now for 26 years, the last four of them spent as Director of Perinatal Services at MLKCH. Her days are spent checking in on laboring mothers, discussing cases with nurses and midwives, and making sure that the business of being born is running smoothly. But, as Charlene knows all too well from her years in delivery rooms, the path to motherhood is not always straightforward.
In July 2023, Charlene checked in on a mother on her floor who had given birth over the weekend. The mother was distraught. She told Charlene that although she loved her child, she knew she couldn’t provide for him. Her potential adoptive mother had fallen through when the baby tested positive for substances, and the mother felt like she was out of options.
“She just needed a listening ear. I wanted to go in there, hear her story, make her feel safe, and offer her resources,” recalls Charlene. She tried to reassure the mother by telling her, “It’s okay to make the decision not to take your baby home. There will be families out there who will give him love and support.”
And she shared the story of her own adopted son, JJ. It began with Charlene’s mother, who has been fostering kids for more than 30 years, starting when Charlene was in her early teens. Over the years, her mother has taken in dozens of children, and adopted two permanently into the family. JJ arrived as one of her mother’s foster babies, but Charlene also fell in love with his bright personality. With her biological daughter grown and moved out of the house, Charlene and her husband decided to co-adopt JJ with her mom, knowing that he would grow up loved in a big, close-knit family. “He’s not our biological child,” Charlene told her patient, “but I love him like I birthed him.”
Though it hadn’t been her intent, Charlene had inadvertently convinced the distressed mother that she would be the perfect foster mother for the newborn boy. Charlene was still actively registered as a foster mother, even though she hadn’t had a placement in several years. But she wanted to help, and when her patient asked, she said yes. Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services gave their approval by the next morning, and everything fell into place. She still hadn’t had a chance to tell her husband.
Charlene understood foster placements could be emotionally challenging for her husband, who got attached easily and often fell in love with the children who came through their home. He was immediately on board with the new baby from MLKCH though. Working in labor and delivery, Charlene witnesses countless family stories unfold daily, which helps her stay grounded and realistic about the unpredictable nature of the foster care system. She reminds her husband to keep an open mind, and to prepare for the possibility that the children in their care may not be able to stay.
Both of them cared deeply for the newborn baby boy, and although it wasn’t easy to relinquish him to a family member after four months in their home, Charlene and her husband knew they had done the right thing.
Since that first MLKCH foster baby, Charlene has taken in another baby born at MLKCH as a foster child—a baby girl, along with her 3-year-old twin siblings. From an empty nest, her household has been transformed with the chaotic joy of four children under the age of four. “All the kids have different personalities and give us different things to look forward to,” says Charlene. “And they bring a sense of joy to our home.” Balancing her busy schedule as a nursing director with her children requires routines, and a lot of support from her husband and mom. But it also can be fun—the family of six plans to travel to Cabo and Ensenada this summer.
Pictures of her children—biological, adopted, foster—line Charlene’s office cabinets. In her office and at meetings on the Labor & Delivery floor, she can often be found holding and cuddling “boarder babies”—infants who are waiting for foster placements. It’s a natural extension of her love for her own children, and the love she has for all of the babies born at MLKCH.