Couple Meets Dispatcher Who Helped Them Deliver Baby
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WESTMINSTER, CO (KCNC) — A Westminster family is thanking a police dispatcher who helped them welcome a new baby right in their living room. Liz and Scott Riddle delivered a little girl named Claire on Dec. 12.
“I started having contractions and realized they were irregular so we called our midwife and our plan was to go to the birth center. So we were gathering everything up,” said Liz Riddle. “Within maybe half an hour things were getting more intense and suddenly my water broke. I knew I had to push.”
The couple realized that they may not make to the hospital in time and decided to call an ambulance.
“My husband, he’s like, ‘Let’s go!’ And I said, ‘Call 911!” said Liz.
Scott called 911 and was connected with Westminster Communications Specialist Rebecca Bernal.
“We have an older daughter so I’d already seen one birth but I wasn’t involved at all, obviously. I don’t know how to deliver a baby,” said Scott.
Dispatcher Bernal guided Scott through the birth and reassured him that he was doing everything right.
“I don’t think that he was very prepared, obviously in that kind of situation it’s a lot especially when you’re not trained for that sort of thing,” said Bernal. “It’s a father delivering his child. So I kind of had to guide him through a few things he wasn’t really prepared for. He handled it very well and he took direction very well.”
As the baby’s head began to crown, Bernal walked Scott through supporting the baby’s head and making sure the umbilical cord wasn’t wrapped around the baby’s neck.
“It was really exciting, especially once the baby was out and crying I think everybody at dispatch was very excited,” said Bernal.
The delivery took just six minutes and EMTs arrived right after the baby was born.
The Riddles stopped by the Westminster Police Department to thank Dispatcher Bernal in person. The city of Westminster posted a video of the emotional moment on Facebook and thanked all of the city’s emergency responders for their work.
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