US doctor helps deliver fellow patient's baby hours before giving birth to her own

The on-call doctor was out on break so Dr Hess decided to help fellow patient whose baby was in distress

A pregnant doctor in Kentucky, USA was getting ready in her hospital room to deliver her baby when she heard a distressed patient in labour in the next room and jumped in to help deliver the woman’s baby before giving birth to her own.

Dr Amanda Hess, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Frankfort Regional Medical Center in Frankfort, Kentucky recognised the fellow patient, who was screaming in pain, as Leah Halliday-Johnson whom she had given a prenatal checkup a week ago.

“I just put on another gown to cover up my backside and put on some boots over my shoes, to keep from getting any fluid and all that stuff on me, and went down to her room,” Dr Hess told a local news channel.



Johnson told People magazine that she was at the hospital to deliver her fourth baby – a little girl, but she was arriving faster than expected and had the umbilical cord loosely wrapped around her neck. Nurses had asked Johnson not to push because the on-call doctor was out on a break and had not returned yet.

“I was not being quiet about the fact that it was difficult for me not to push,” Johnson said, adding that with no time for any pain medication, she let out a scream or two.

Dr Hess was preparing to be induced into labour when she heard Johnson and went to her aid. “She overheard the nurses preparing for a woman in active labour who needed to deliver immediately because the baby was in distress — that baby was coming and needed help,” fellow physician Dr Hala Sabry wrote in a post on Facebook.

Johnson said she didn’t find out until later that Dr Hess wasn’t on duty that day but was at the hospital to give birth to her own baby.



“I said, OK, it’s great to see you. Can I push now?” Johnson said. “She was in complete doctor mode. She just heard somebody needed help.”

Dr Hess realised there was no time to wait and delivered Johnson’s healthy eight-pound baby at about 8:40 pm on July 23 after two quick pushes.

“She’s a really special person,” Johnson said. “I’m thankful for her.”

The on-call doctor arrived shortly after and completed the rest of the procedures while Dr Hess went back to her own room.

She gave birth to her own baby girl named Ellen Joyce a few hours later. This is her second child.

“It’s life-affirming that there are these women out there watching out for other women,” Johnson said. “She has made me feel good about life.”

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This article originally appeared on People.com