**SAN DIEGO —**Heidi Murkoff, author of the pregnancy guide *“What to Expect When You’re Expecting,”*visited patients, families and staff at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) on May 28, offering encouragement, parenting advice and signed copies of her books during a morale-boosting event focused on supporting military families.
During the visit, Murkoff met with expectant parents, new mothers and health care professionals throughout the hospital’s maternal and infant care areas. Conversations often turned personal as patients and staff shared stories of how her books helped guide them through pregnancy and early parenthood.
Murkoff’s connection to military families began more than a decade ago with a single baby shower at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
“We were asked to donate books back in 2012 to a shower that was happening at Fort Belvoir,” Murkoff said. “My husband Eric and I looked at each other and said, ‘Maybe we should just go.’ We got on a plane, went to the shower full of pregnant moms and new babies, and we looked at each other and said, ‘We have to do this all the time.’”
That decision evolved into a long-running commitment to military families. Since 2013, Murkoff and her organization have participated in hundreds of military baby showers around the world.
“We’ve probably done about 400 by now,” she said. “That’s at least 35,000 families that we’ve been able to get to know all over the world and give hugs to, which is the best part.”
Through those interactions, Murkoff said she gained a deeper understanding of the unique challenges faced by military families, including deployments, relocations and extended periods away from support networks.
While touring NMCSD, Murkoff praised both the hospital staff and the care provided to growing military families.
“They’re just the best staff, and I love everybody I meet here,” she said. “All the patients are so happy to be here, which is great. I just had a mom tell me she’s on her second baby and loved this hospital so much she had to come back.”
NMCSD is one of the Department of War’s premier military medical centers and provides comprehensive obstetric, gynecological, labor and delivery, neonatal and postpartum services for service members, dependents andretirees. The hospital’s women’s health team includes obstetricians, certified nurse midwives, nurses, pediatric specialists and neonatal care providers who work together to deliver family-centered care.
The visit reflected NMCSD’s ongoing commitment to supporting military families beyond clinical care by fostering a welcoming environment for expectant parents and new families during some of life’s most significant milestones.
For Murkoff, the experience remains as rewarding as ever.
“I’ll be back any time, every time,” she said. “I love it here. You see the smiles on the parents’ faces, but you can see the smile on my face. I get so much more back than I could ever give. I’ve got a very strict one-hug-minimum policy, no maximum, and I intend to enforce that everywhere I go, especially here.”
Editor’s Note: Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service does not constitute or imply endorsement by the Department of War or Naval Medical Center San Diego.