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These Best Friends Delivered Each Other's Babies, & It Will Seriously Warm Your Heart

by Andrea Frazier

Having friends who are willing to talk about (and dissect) your every worry and insecurity, every professional triumph and the excitement of starting a family is one of life's greatest gifts. And having at least one friend who has the expertise or background to offer advice and even a helping hand during some momentous life experiences — like, say, pregnancy and childbirth — is a rare and precious advantage. Well, two women recently took their friendship a step further than even that, when these doctor besties delivered each other's babies in what could only be described as some of the most epic acts of best friendship ever to be recorded by humankind.

It all started back in April 2014, when Dr. Jocelyn Slaughter gave birth to her first child. And it wasn't just any doctor who delivered the baby girl, Janice: No, the doctor who helped Slaughter deliver a few years ago was none other than Slaughter's best friend, Dr. Laquita Martinez, ABC News reported. The two women first met when they began their residency at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta in 2008. They've been friends ever since, a relationship that Martinez described to ABC News as more of a sisterhood because of the way that Slaughter was there for her when she lost her first child, Ryan, at 26 weeks.

Clearly, these two women are in it for the long haul. But then, another chapter of their pretty incredible story unfolded. Slaughter — who runs The Healthy Woman Pregnancy Care Center in Snellville, Georgia — delivered Martinez's, daughter, Kayla, on Oct. 6. Martinez and her husband of 13 years are already parents to their 2-year-old son, Daniel. But there was something extra special about the besties having the chance to share the moment, as Slaughter told ABC News of delivering the little girl via C-section:

When you're operating on your best friend, it is a little nerve-wracking,but I knew I had to do it. Nobody else could do this except for me. After the surgery, I walked out and started crying because she finally had her daughter. That's what she always wanted.

And Martinez herself, of course, felt like she was in very good (and, obviously, capable) hands, according to People magazine:

After coming off of a high-risk pregnancy and having two prior C-sections, you want to be with someone that you trust. Someone that you know loves you and has your best interest at heart and wants to see the best for you and your child.

Um, wow. And what could happen in the future makes the story — if possible — even more jaw-dropping. Slaughter is actually pregnant with her second child right now and says she would love nothing more than for Martinez to be able to be involved in the delivery of that baby, too. "Because she just had her baby, she probably won’t be able to deliver mine," she said told People. "But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she might."

Considering how stressful the process of giving birth can be, there's no doubt that both of these women were thrilled to have someone they love and trust be the one to guide them through the experience — and do a lot of the dirty work. It will be quite the story for them to tell their kids someday, because, obviously, their kids are going to be best friends with one another as well. Whether or not they Slaughter and Martinez get to keep the tradition going with future pregnancies, the care and support they've provided to each other so far will surely bond them for life.

Check out Romper's new video series, Romper's Doula Diaries:

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