When an expecting mom plans to give birth at a hospital, a home birth is the last thing on her mind. Pregnant women typically have plenty of time to make it to a hospital or birth center once labor begins. Some labors and deliveries, however, progress at warp speed — leaving no time for first responders to arrive.
Fortunately, an Alabama sheriff's deputy was in the right place at the right time when a local woman went into labor. The officer was flagged down at a crime scene by a father-to-be who lived nearby and explained his girlfriend was having a baby. Thanks to the deputy's quick actions, that infant girl is alive and well today.
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In June, an Alabama sheriff's deputy helped deliver a baby.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Alabama shared a video via Facebook August 13 featuring Deputy Jeremy Barbin discussing how he helped deliver a baby on June 28.
"As I opened the door, I see a young lady lying on the ground and another middle-aged lady, saying 'Help me, help me,'" he recalled of the woman, Jakayla Parker. "And she's obviously having a baby."
Body camera footage showed the deputy spring into action to finish delivering the baby.
Body camera footage shared via YouTube showed Barbin responding to a man, Jeremy Foster, flagging him down at a nearby crime scene because his girlfriend was in labor. After he entered the home, Barbin and his partner jumped right in to help finish delivering the baby.
"By the time they had got in the living room, her head and shoulders was already out," Parker explained.
The deputy noticed the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck and quickly freed it.
"I got to the feet and continued removing the baby," Barbin recalled. "The umbilical cord was wrapped around the back of the baby's neck, so we were able to get the cord off the baby's neck."
He added, "I could feel the heartbeat, could tell that the baby was breathing. But I didn't have any means to clear the airway or anything like that. So I tried to sweep the mouth with my finger, wrap the baby up, keep it as warm as I could until paramedics arrived on the scene."
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On Facebook, residents responded to the heroic story.
In the Facebook comments, area residents praised Deputy Barbin for his actions. One wrote, "Well done! Great job staying calm during a stressful situation. Glad Mom & baby ok. True hero! ."
"We have the best Officers/Deputies," another person shared. "But they can’t do it alone it takes community participation…Thank you for all you do."
Someone else declared, "Outstanding ❤️ ."
The deputy recently received a medal.
On August 16, Barbin received the Lifesaving Medal for helping deliver the baby girl, ABC 33/40 reported. The deputy noted that he responds to "a lot of violet calls," so it was "good to see a life brought into the world versus the opposite."
"I had a very hectic day that day but I was kind of on cloud nine when I got home," Barbin told ABC 33/44. "It was a very good feeling."
