Nursing student Steven Welton recently facilitated a baby’s birth outside the Vanderbilt University Medical Center East (VUMC) — a bit ahead of schedule.
A research coordinator for VUMC, Welton was only halfway through his associate degree in nursing to Master's of Science in nursing coursework and had never delivered a baby before, but that didn’t stop him from stepping in when Mona Youssef gave birth to baby Elijah in the parked family sedan, with her husband en route for help and her toddler son with her, according to the VUMC Voice, the medical center's publication. Labor was scheduled to be induced the next day.
Welton, a former trauma nurse, took charge during the emergency with the help of an EMT. When the baby appeared blue, he administered CPR on the infant and kept him stabilized until more help arrived, according to the VUMC Voice.
“I actually thought I was dreaming through the whole thing,” Youssef said through an Arabic translator. “We only hear about these things in the movies. I thought I lost him when I couldn’t see him breathing. What scared me is the baby didn’t cry. The two doctors [Welton and the EMT] who saw me, I think they saved my life and his life.”
Both mother and child were reported to be doing well and were discharged two days later.
