Mindy Harp
May 2017
Mindy
Harp
,
RN
Maternal Child Health
Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center
Vallejo
,
CA
United States
Mindy Harp, RN, responded to a neighbor in need. Her reward? Helping in the birth of a baby.
An early morning pounding on her door was the only notice that Mindy Harp received that she would be delivering a baby in her neighbors home. Harp, a registered nurse in Labor and Delivery, first felt panic, but it was her long-time neighbors in Napa with an urgent request: their daughter-in-law was minutes away from delivering a baby and there was no time to get to the hospital.
"I was in my pajamas, I didn't put on my shoes. I just ran across the street," Harp said. "When I got there, the head was crowning. That means the baby was coming." Harp, a nurse with nearly 11 years of experience, didn't have a way to monitor the baby's heart rate. She didn't hear an ambulance yet." The best thing was to get the baby out, skin to skin with the mom."
The mother-to-be and father-to-be had been responsible first-time parents. They had taken Lamaze childbirth classes, "but there was nothing to prepare us for a home birth. This was going to happen at the hospital." At 5:20 a.m. her water broke with labor coming on hard. They immediately dialed 911 while the grandparents summoned Harp from across the street.
Once Harp arrived, she took charge. Even after the Napa Fire Department got there minutes later, they held back to let Harp do what she's an expert at-baby delivery. Harp was given warm towels, a blanket, gloves, and a small aspirator to work with. That's it.
"She was calm, I was amazed how calm she was," Harp said. "I told her to push. It came right out. The baby was crying. That's always a good sign. It was a very good delivery, given the situation." Harp rode in the ambulance with the couple and the baby to the closest hospital because the placenta was not yet delivered and the baby needed oxygen due to meconium aspiration. She is home and fine now. Firefighters were happy that an experienced labor and delivery nurse joined them. "They are trained to deliver babies, but it's a skill they don't have to use often," Fire Captain said. "It's a rare act, delivering a child."
"It was truly a blessing that I was able to be there to help," Harp said. "Our pediatrician told me that I saved her life. I'm so glad I was the right person at the right time."
An early morning pounding on her door was the only notice that Mindy Harp received that she would be delivering a baby in her neighbors home. Harp, a registered nurse in Labor and Delivery, first felt panic, but it was her long-time neighbors in Napa with an urgent request: their daughter-in-law was minutes away from delivering a baby and there was no time to get to the hospital.
"I was in my pajamas, I didn't put on my shoes. I just ran across the street," Harp said. "When I got there, the head was crowning. That means the baby was coming." Harp, a nurse with nearly 11 years of experience, didn't have a way to monitor the baby's heart rate. She didn't hear an ambulance yet." The best thing was to get the baby out, skin to skin with the mom."
The mother-to-be and father-to-be had been responsible first-time parents. They had taken Lamaze childbirth classes, "but there was nothing to prepare us for a home birth. This was going to happen at the hospital." At 5:20 a.m. her water broke with labor coming on hard. They immediately dialed 911 while the grandparents summoned Harp from across the street.
Once Harp arrived, she took charge. Even after the Napa Fire Department got there minutes later, they held back to let Harp do what she's an expert at-baby delivery. Harp was given warm towels, a blanket, gloves, and a small aspirator to work with. That's it.
"She was calm, I was amazed how calm she was," Harp said. "I told her to push. It came right out. The baby was crying. That's always a good sign. It was a very good delivery, given the situation." Harp rode in the ambulance with the couple and the baby to the closest hospital because the placenta was not yet delivered and the baby needed oxygen due to meconium aspiration. She is home and fine now. Firefighters were happy that an experienced labor and delivery nurse joined them. "They are trained to deliver babies, but it's a skill they don't have to use often," Fire Captain said. "It's a rare act, delivering a child."
"It was truly a blessing that I was able to be there to help," Harp said. "Our pediatrician told me that I saved her life. I'm so glad I was the right person at the right time."