Dr. Hanna delivers 4,000 baby
Considered a key part in the Levelland community, Dr. John Hanna has reached a career milestone of delivering 4,000 babies.
Delivering his 4,000 baby on March 31, the countdown became a real thing once the count got within five according to Dr. Hanna. Talking with Dr. Hanna, the possibility of the lucky parents welcoming their child into the world being delivered by him as well was almost a sure thing as the statistics proved to be uncanny.
Jaxson McCoy was brought into the world with the aid of Dr. Hanna and earned the title of baby number 4,000. Sure enough, McCoy’s parents, father Josh and mother Summer Hernandez also had the pleasure of being delivered by Dr. Hanna. Dr. Hanna has been delivering babies since his time during his residency and the numbers and statistics feel unreal.
“I delivered my first baby in 1993 and I delivered roughly 800 or 900 hundred babies before I moved to Levelland,” said Dr. Hanna. “I didn’t really count them back, but I delivered a bunch in medical school, delivered a bunch in residency, and I was in Lubbock for three years before I came here. Before that I was in Fort Worth.”
Making the move to Levelland in 1998, Dr. Hanna delivered 12 babies between the month of September 31 and December 31. Finishing his first year with 12 babies, the following year was 70 deliveries, and the third year was 150 deliveries. After the fourth year in Levelland, each year averaged roughly 200 babies a year for the next 13 or 14 years.
“It’s kind of backed off a little bit, now that we have better birth control now and mothers or parents are more willing to put birth control in their kids when they used to not do that,” explained Dr. Hanna. “I think I totaled 151 deliveries last year, so that works out to be pretty much a baby almost every other day in the whole year.
For a lot of community members within Levelland and the surrounding area, families continue to return to Dr. Hanna as a family physician or their go-to doctor for delivery.
“I’ve delivered the mom, then then daughter, but haven’t I still have one more to go before I have delivered three generations,” said Dr. Hanna. “I know there’s a lady in this town that I’ve delivered roughly 29 of her grandchildren. Some families I see back here more than others.”
During his time delivering little ones, Dr. Hanna has delivered sisters that were four or five minutes apart and a pair of sisters in the same night even though they weren’t due in the same month.
Dr. Hanna and the staff of nurses had a particularly busy night when they delivered nine babies in one evening. Additionally, he had delivered four babies in a span of 15 minutes, one delivery had to be done in the drive-thru of the emergency room, another delivery in the hallway of the hospital.
As far as twins go, Dr. Hanna estimated that he had delivered between 100 and 200 sets of twins. He also added that there was one year in the early 2000s where Dr. Hanna delivered 22 sets of twins.
“I had delivered one set of triplets that I eventually transferred that that was quite a few years back,” said Dr. Hanna. “Every time we did a sonogram another baby popped.”
For the number of deliveries Dr. Hanna has accumulated, his 25 years of serving the Levelland community has been filled with non-stop chaos that he has continued to thrive in. Fully invested in continuing his career in the medical field, Dr. Hanna is committed to working an additional six years at the current pace he is working.
Feeling that he could not call it quits and completely stop after those six years had passed, Dr. Hanna would like to continue working OBGYN for an additional six years after the first round at a bit of limited capacity. An example he offered was delivering two babies a week instead of the normal 20.
If the number of deliveries stays consistent, the possibility of a 5,000 baby could be likely. At that point, if the number is close after six years, Dr. Hanna is more than willing to keep working at reaching that number.
“I try to find a balance because I you know my priority is definitely to make sure that my wife stays happy. I told her in six years I’ll be down to just one baby at home, and I’ll be 65,” explained Dr. Hanna. “I figure in six years I’m going to kind of reassess and see how close I am to 5000.”
As the years have passed, Dr. Hanna has noticed the lack of sleep and lifestyle of an on-call doctor taking a toll on him.
“I do like the chaos, but I do notice lack of sleep more now than I did 20 years ago,” said Dr. Hanna. “There would be reasons to quit for sure because you go to bed and you are going to sleep all night. I’ve been going to church in two cars for 25 years because sometimes my phone rings and I have to go back and deliver a baby. It would be nice to go to church in one car: I’ve never done that before.”
While the job can potentially take up 100 percent of the doctor’s life, Dr. Hanna explained that anyone in the position has to be cognizant of that and actively fight that lifestyle. A rush of babies could be delivered and in the next instance, the delivery and labor wing are silent with no activity. Coming and going in waves, the job can be hectic at times.
Dr. Hanna shared his appreciation for his patients and their willingness to even wait long periods of times to just have consultation with him.
During his early years in his career, Dr. Hanna has gradually scaled down from city size such as going from Dallas, to Lubbock and finally to Levelland.
The feeling of a tight knit community and ability to share a personable experience with his patients is what Dr. Hanna enjoys about his position the most.
Feeling like his patients are an extension of family, Dr. Hanna has continuously seen the babies he has delivered grow up and continue to return to visit him through the clinic.
For expecting mothers in bigger cities, when they visit a hospital or clinic, they get the doctor who is in at that time. However, in the case of Dr. Hanna, an expecting mother can expect to visit with Dr. Hanna through each appointment and see him during the deliver process as well.
“On some days, you cure constipation, a headache or a hangnail, but sometimes you deliver a baby, or you save someone’s life,” said Dr. Hanna. “That makes you feel good.”
At the time Dr. Hanna came to Levelland in 1998, it was common for doctors to preform everything necessary that was involved in child birth. Now, Dr. Hanna feels that doctors are shying away from that practice due to fear that can be caused by a number of issues.
“When I first came to Levelland, there was a lot of doctors that did what I did. Everybody pretty much did that and now nobody does,” said Dr. Hanna. “I’m like a relic or a dinosaur because you did all your own stuff back then, but the doctors that are coming out now get scared delivering babies.”
When making suggestions as to why he doesn’t feel the same way, he explained it may be because of how long he has been in the field or simply he isn’t smart enough to be nervous or scared.
“You know what you can do and sometimes you have to transfer stuff, but you have to have certain brain waves just to be able to deliver babies in a little town because you know all the technology that out there isn’t out here,” explained Dr. Hanna. “Sometimes you get things that you can’t handle because they’re too far along or too unstable, but you do what you have to do, and I know I like doing it.”
Coming to Levelland at the beginning of his career wasn’t in the plans for Dr. Hanna, but once he made the move, the camaraderie between the doctors and staff kept him firmly planted with the community.
“I’ve been able to get along with mostly everybody that has rolled through the hospital and clinic,” said Dr. Hanna. “Even though Levelland is not my hometown, it has felt like home more and more time has passed. The community has shown me a lot of appreciation for what I do and I am grateful for it.”