How paramedics helped a Hawthorn Woods mom deliver at home
What started as a routine call for a woman in labor turned into an "exhilarating" Saturday night for Lake Zurich firefighters and paramedics, who delivered the baby girl in the family's home.
It wasn't unusual for Carolyn Dale to have mild contractions throughout her pregnancy, so she didn't think much of it when she started feeling them at 5:30 p.m. Soon after she decided to lie down, however, she realized she was going into labor, and her husband called 911.
It wasn't long after crews arrived at the Hawthorn Woods house that they realized Dale would not make it to the hospital in time, Lake Zurich Fire Capt. David Borst said. Sure enough, by 6:44 p.m., she had given birth to her daughter, Skylar Aurora Joanis, in her master bedroom.
The quick delivery came as a surprise to Dale, who had been in labor for nine hours before her first daughter was born. Instead of being assisted by her doula at the hospital, she said, this time she was surrounded by paramedics who were holding her hand, bringing her towels and coaching her through the birth of her second born.
"They were such great cheerleaders, which is what I needed," Dale said. "I was in a sea of men I didn't know, but by the end of the evening, they were my best buds, and I was crying because they were so amazing."
The first responders were reassuring and enthusiastic as they talked Dale through every part of the delivery, she said. When the umbilical cord was wrapped around Skylar's neck, they remained calm and fixed the situation immediately. When the baby was born, Dale said, they cleaned her, handed her to her mother and said, "That was amazing."
"You could feel the excitement in the room. It's a different kind of excitement than having a bunch of women around because they were in awe," Dale said. "It was just a really different and neat bonding experience."
The paramedics even waited around to check on Dale and Skylar after taking them to the hospital. Dale has since been released, and a healthy Skylar is expected to be picked up Monday.
The experience was rewarding and exciting for the responding paramedics, Borst said, noting some first responders go an entire career without a delivery in the field.
"It's emotional. It's exhilarating. The mom was absolutely fantastic," Borst said. "When you're a part of that, the crew rides the high for a long time. Those are the types of calls we absolutely love."