This NICU mom switched careers to help parents navigate difficult pregnancies.

Brittney Thorpe remembers sitting with her husband in the hospital parking lot for two hours before they could bring themselves to drive home. They couldn’t fathom leaving without their baby boy.

Thorpe, who worked as a registered nurse at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, had just finished her shift when her water broke. An hour later, Jonah was delivered by urgent cesarean section. He was 14 weeks early.

In the parking lot, Thorpe was overcome with emotions, among them the guilt over having to leave Jonah in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The wait felt like an eternity, and in a way it was: Jonah would spend four months in treatment.

“That is definitely a huge separation and a transition that nobody is able to prepare for,” said Thorpe, whose son is now 4.

Jonah’s premature delivery sparked Thorpe’s interest in women’s health and obstetrics – and a career change that is now fulfilling her lifelong passion for medicine.

Thorpe made the switch to family nurse practitioner in February 2024. In this role, at Novant Health Glen Meade OB/GYN - Autumn Hall in Wilmington, she provides preventive and primary care support by treating conditions and prescribing medications while prioritizing individualized and empowered health care.

“Now I truly understand patients’ worries during pregnancies, because I’ve been there,” Thorpe said. “As a provider, it’s about supporting mothers in that situation, calming their anxiety and letting them know that they’re going to get through this.”

Changing the trajectory of Black maternal health

One in three Black mothers suffers from depression after childbirth, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports, with postpartum depression the most common perinatal mood disorder affecting mothers between pregnancy and one year after birth.

The CDC also finds that implicit bias can affect interactions between patients and their clinicians. Novant Health is working to address disparities in maternal health through training and improving patient access to prenatal care.

“I try to focus on making sure that we have that outreach,” Thorpe said. “Some of our patients have socioeconomic factors that may affect why they're not able to get care, whether it’s lacking transportation to appointments or being able to afford (care). So it’s about trying to identify those barriers by listening to our patients.”

Putting patients at ease

Listening to a mother’s concerns and fears is the first step toward establishing trust, which is often the biggest challenge to treatment, Thorpe said.

“Trust is really hard at that stage because you feel, as a mom, that you know what's best,” she said. “But we have to be able to put that trust in health care professionals and know that providers are doing everything possible to make sure that the mom and the baby are safe.”

That sensitive approach involves having open and honest discussions with patients, even when the news is not positive, Thorpe said.

“If I see something abnormal on a scan, I always tell patients that we’re going to follow it and see how things progress, and not go directly toward thinking the worst,” she said.

A connection between mothers

When Thorpe was a child, unexpected news came during her 10th birthday party that ultimately helped point her to a career in health care. Her mother had been diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma, known as liver cancer, in her late 30s.

“She came to my birthday party and all her hair was gone,” Thorpe remembered. “I was in complete shock, because I remember the day before she was wearing a hat. But she just couldn’t hide it anymore.”

Years later, something fortuitous happened on the day Thorpe became a nurse in 2015: Her mother was notified of an available organ for liver transplant surgery. The next day they flew to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, for what was a successful liver transplant.

Now, because the medications have depleted her kidney function, Thorpe’s mother is among the 100,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list. The journey since that birthday party continues, but it has helped shape Thorpe’s vocational vision.

The power of empathy

To empathize with your patient, you must be present. Thorpe says sensitive conversations should also be frank and help empower mothers to participate in their own health care decisions.

“I’m their advocate, but I want them to be able to advocate for themselves as well,” she said. “They should be asking, ‘What can I do to make sure that I am protecting myself and my baby? How often am I getting a breast exam? What should I be doing differently for myself?’”

For Thorpe, strong advocacy means putting her own stress on the backburner and focusing on the patient in front of her. On the morning drive to work, she engages in positive self-talk to prepare for the day’s conversations with patients.

“I definitely work at that every day, regardless of what I have going on at home with my child and his challenges,” Thorpe said. “Whether it’s a difficult pregnancy or any other challenge in life, it’s about remembering that you were once there, too.”