When Maria Turner first started working as an OB-GYN nurse at Lodi Memorial Hospital, men weren’t allowed in delivery rooms.
Turner was born in 1924. Things have changed quite a bit since she hung up her scrubs – and in her view, for the better.
“I think [men] should go in [to the delivery room], so they can see … the misery a woman goes through delivering a baby,” she said.
For Turner, being a strong working woman and liking to look nice aren’t mutually exclusive. And to celebrate Turner and women like her, the staff of Lodi’s Vienna Nursing and Rehabilitation Center came together to give the female residents a makeover and a photo shoot.
Turner had her hair and makeup done, before heading outside to get her portrait taken. She smiled for the camera, laughing when she was told to “do a silly face.”
Even after the camera was put down, Turner kept grinning.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “I didn’t realize they’d do something like this.”