Kentucky Doctor Delivers Patient's Baby Right Before Giving Birth to Daughter

Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by krstyan
image for Kentucky Doctor Delivers Patient's Baby Right Before Giving Birth to Daughter

"I saw her three or four times, and I liked her a lot," Halliday Johnson said. "She wasn’t supposed to be on call since she was having a baby herself."

Hess was being induced at Frankfort Regional Medical Center when she overheard Halliday Johnson preparing to deliver, according to a Facebook post by Dr. Hala Sabry, who founded the nonprofit Physician Moms Group.

According to the post, Halliday Johnson’s baby was in distress and needed immediate attention. The on-call physician was on the way, but Hess heard about what was happening and snapped to action. She put boots on over her flipflops and another hospital gown to cover her back, and got to work, according to NBC News affiliate WLEX-18.

"I said you know, I'm not on call, I'm here in a gown, but I think we ought to have the baby," Hess said in an interview with NBC News Friday.

Halliday Johnson said she didn’t know Hess was in labor, and said the doctor was completely professional throughout the delivery.

Related: Slain NYPD Officer’s Widow Gives Birth More Than Two Years After His Death

"She was definitely in doctor mode," Halliday Johnson said. “My husband noticed something was going on because she had on a hospital gown, but I didn't notice that because I was on the delivery table. I was in my own world there."

Leah Halliday Johnson holds her newborn baby. Courtesy of Lex18.com

Hess said she figured she’d be working late into her pregnancy, but didn't predict she’d be working the day she gave birth. Her contractions began a few minutes after she delivered Halliday Johnson's youngest, according to the NBC News affiliate.

"I had actually taken a call the day before, so I thought really that I was working up to the last minute. But this was literally 'til the last second," Hess told WLEX-18.

The two women haven’t spoke since they became new mothers, but Halliday Johnson said she's grateful Hess stepped in.

"She's definitely earned her time off," Halliday Johnson said. "I appreciate what she did for my family, and it speaks a lot to who she is as a woman and a mother as well as a doctor. It makes you feel better, bringing a baby girl into the world, knowing there are women like her willing to step up like that."

Hess said it was all in a day’s work. "Delivering other peoples' babies is something I do every day," Hess said. "And I'm more comfortable with delivering someone else's baby than my own, for sure."

syntaxvorlon on May 31st, 2018 at 23:38 UTC »

This sounds like the plot to a terrible episode of a medical drama (or maybe medical drama parody) with a LOT of screaming.

TooShiftyForYou on May 31st, 2018 at 23:36 UTC »

“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,” Hess told WKYT.

“She was definitely in doctor mode,” Halliday Johnson told NBC. “My husband noticed something was going on because she had on a hospital gown, but I didn’t notice that because I was on the delivery table. I was in my own world there.”

Imagine the husband's confusion when waiting on the doctor to come deliver the baby and suddenly a woman in a hospital gown walks in and starts directing the show.

Source

-Guy-LeDouche- on May 31st, 2018 at 22:58 UTC »

I feel sorry for that kid. My mom used to tell me about how bad her labor was. Imagine that topped off with "...and I had to deliver another baby"