Birthing Babies on 280

Imagine this…you’re nine months pregnant…contractions are two minutes apart…and you’re expecting TWINS!  So you do the right thing,...you call an ambulance.  But apparently, there are some situations where even flashing red lights and a siren won’t help.  For example, rush hour on highway 280.

This actually happened to a Harpersville mom-to-be.  The EMT’s had fought the gridlock all the way from Harpersville through Chelsea and down 280.  They made it as far as The Summit. But it was 7 o’clock Wednesday morning, the medic saw nothing but brake lights.  According to EMT Ryan Carter, “Traffic was really bad, it took us 45 minutes just to get to The Summit.“  And these babies weren’t going to wait any longer.  So the EMT’s had to think fast.  They pulled over.  Medic Kyle Roy says, “Her contractions got shorter and shorter and she felt the urge to push!“  Roy earned his stripes that morning, he had only been on the job for one week.  Roy says, “The first baby came up and she was awesome.  Good color, she was crying.  And then there was the thought in the back of my mind [that] you still got one more.“  Baby girl number two didn’t make it an easier either.  She was breech and came into this world feet first seven minutes after her sister.  All this was done with no drugs and without an epidural.  “She had no pain meds, we don’t carry any drugs we can give her.  It was just straight,natural birth and she was screaming,“ says Carter.  Roy adds, “We ended up delivering both of them right there directly next to The Summit.“ 

That’s sort of fitting, don’t you think?  Twin girls, born next to a mall.  These little ladies will have quite a story to tell when they get older.

By the way, mom and babies were taken to UAB Hospital where we’re told they’re all doing great!  Congrats to all!