WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH) - Whitman firefighters are being credited with helping a couple deliver a healthy baby boy at their home earlier this week.
Firefighters responding to the home of Erica Rodriguez and Jason McCarthy on Wednesday immediately set up a sterile environment and assisted in delivering baby Nathan moments later, according to Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno.
The baby, weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces, was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth with his mother.
Firefighter Steven Foster says he has responded to calls of women in labor before but baby Nathan is the first child he has ever delivered.
“It was a very unique experience and it had a very happy ending. It’s not every day you go to a scene assisting one patient, and you leave assisting two,” Foster said. “I’ve had some close calls, but this was the first time the baby was born before the ambulance arrived. Everything happened so quickly, but your training immediately kicks in. The father remained very calm and Erica did an amazing job.”
Rodriguez noted that she was not prepared for a home delivery but is happy with how everything turned out.
“It’s a story we’ll be able to tell for the rest of our lives,” she said. “I am just very thankful that the firefighters showed up as quickly as they did and were so professional. Everything went as smoothly as it could have, and we’re so grateful.”
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