Oceanside police helped deliver a healthy baby girl Monday morning after they responded to an urgent phone call from a man who said he was unsure if he and his wife would make it to the hospital.
Shortly after 7:30 a.m., the man reported he was en route to the hospital with his pregnant wife and they were unsure they would make it. Moments later, the man told police his wife was giving birth and he pulled the vehicle to the shoulder on Vista Way and Rancho Del Oro.
Responding officers arrived at the scene and rushed to the woman’s side to help deliver her baby with a medic kit. Within moments of reassuring the woman that her baby’s feet were exposed, baby Abigail Romero was delivered.
One officer swaddled the baby in gauze and placed her on the woman’s chest. After feeling her mother, the newborn began to breathe and cry.
"I'm not a doctor, I'm just a police officer called to assist a mom who did a great job delivering her child," said Oceanside Police Department Officer Brett Shields.
Police said the parents are doing fine and were taken to Tri-City Medical Center for a follow-up.
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"This has certainly been an amazing experience. Never could we imagine that we’d be delivering our own baby on the way to the hospital," the Romero family later said.
"We are so thankful that our little Abigail is healthy and want to extend our thanks to everyone who helped after the delivery including Oceanside Police Department, Vista Fire Department and Tri-City Medical Center.”