There are few things that we find more terrifying than the idea of having to unexpectedly deliver our own baby or have an emergency home birth. The idea of having to go it on our own, without the benefit of medical professionals trained to intervene in the event of a complication seems like the worst case scenario. Except maybe having to unexpectedly deliver our own baby in the front seat of our car, during the worst snow storm of the year. That’s the exact position one New England couple found themselves in this week. And while we would’ve been saying: no epidural, no doctor, no thanks! This husband-and-wife team nailed it.
Kaitlyn and David Vacchina of Connecticut welcomed their new baby into the world right in the middle of a raging nor’easter that has dumped feet (yes, plural) of snow on the northeastern U.S since Sunday.
Dr. Theresa Adams, MD, the doctor who attended the unexpected delivery (and we use the word attended in the loosest possible way here), told WTNH News 8 the story. “I heard a commotion near the nurses’ desk in front of the ED,” she recalled. That was then quickly followed by someone yelling “get the baby.”
So, thankfully, they had actually made it to the parking lot of the hospital for this adventure. The thought of them being stuck on the side of a highway is still giving us shivers.
Adams and the rest of the medical team ran outside to assist. Once she got there, Adams said she discovered that the baby had already made her grand entrance. “The father had helped mom deliver the baby just before I arrived,” she continued. “The baby was on mom’s belly with some blankets covering her.” Adams says the baby was pink, breathing well, and oblivious to the fact that she’d just given her mother a birth story for the ages.
Next, Adams said that they quickly cut the cord and took the baby inside while the nurses got our new personal hero Kaitlyn situated. Everyone was reunited as soon as mom was safely inside the hospital. “The baby was doing well, and did not seem to have suffered any effects from the cold/snow,” concluded Adams.
Molly, the 8 lb., 3 oz. baby girl born in the front seat of the family car, was oblivious of the storm going on when she made her debut. Everyone is excited to get her home to big sister Adalyn, who is eagerly awaiting a first look at her new sibling.
While stories like this are always surprising (read: terrifying), they aren’t entirely uncommon. In fact, stories about babies being unexpectedly born during a weather event that involves a drop in barometric pressure are so common that there have been studies conducted to determine if they’re really connected. So far the results are inconclusive, but that doesn’t mean that babies don’t arrive at inopportune times. If you ever find yourself on the business end of an unexpected birth, you’ll want to follow the instructions laid out by the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Their advice, should travel be unsafe or unadvisable (like in a blizzard), is that you call for help, keep your front door unlocked, get somewhere safe (like on a bed covered in a shower curtain), and listen to the instructions given to you by your doctor or emergency dispatch services.
We’re glad that the Vacchina family is doing well, and hope that any additional siblings for Adalyn and Molly are summer babies!
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