A woman in Miami delivered her own baby on Sunday after a dispatcher talked her through the process when Hurricane Irma prevented paramedics from reaching the new mother.
The woman was in her home in the Little Haiti neighborhood when she went into labor and called 911 for help, the city of Miami said in a tweet on Sunday. Paramedics weren’t able to reach the expectant mother due to hurricane-force winds and dangerous conditions as Irma approached southern Florida.
“We weren't able to respond. So she delivered the placenta, also. Dispatch told her how to tie it off. She's stable at home,” Assistant Fire Chief Eloy Garcia told the Miami Herald. "We made contact with the assistant medical director here. Talked things through."
Doctors at Jackson Health System went on the phone and coached the woman through the birth.
“@JacksonHealth docs talked her through birth at home - it's a girl!” the city wrote on Twitter.
The woman and her newborn girl, whose names were not released, were taken to Jackson Hospital Sunday morning when conditions were safe enough for fire officials to reach her.
Miami-Dade Police urged residents to stay indoors as officers shelter for safety and won’t be able to respond to calls for service. Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key in the lower Florida Keys Sunday morning. The first hurricane-force winds arrived in the Keys Saturday night, bending palm trees and bringing driving rains.
More than 1.1 million customers across Florida lost power as of Sunday morning.
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