A couple who had to deliver their baby in front of a Walgreens is thanking a dispatcher, who is 9-months pregnant herself, for guiding them through the process, according to the Pasco County Fire Rescue in Florida.
At about 9:45 a.m. Friday, the couple called 911 after the 28-year-old went into labor. She was having contractions less than a minute apart, the agency said.
“He was driving, they were on the way to the hospital, he didn’t think they would make it. I got them to pull over, and a couple minutes later, the baby was there,” said the dispatcher, Caitlin Smoak.
As the woman’s labor progressed, Smoke stayed on the phone and talked her boyfriend through the birthing process. A short time later, a baby girl was born in a grassy area just outside of their SUV.
Smoak provided additional instructions for tying off the umbilical cord with a shoelace. She also told the woman’s boyfriend how to care for the baby until paramedics were able to arrive.
The baby and her mother were taken to Advent Health in Wesley Chapel and are said to be in good health, according to the fire agency.
