Pregnant doctor jumps in to deliver a baby in 'distress,' moments later gives birth herself
FRANKFORT, Ky (KTVU) - Moms are widely considered extremely skilled in the art of multi-tasking. But a Kentucky doctor took it to a new level when she delivered another woman's baby moments before she herself gave birth to her second child.
Obstetrician-gynecologist Amanda Hess was in her hospital gown on Sunday at the Frankfort Regional Medical Center and preparing to be induced to deliver a baby girl.
That's when she noticed some commotion coming from a nearby hospital room.
"...she overheard the nurses preparing for a woman in active labor who needed to deliver immediately because the baby was in distress - that baby was coming and needed help!" wrote Dr. Hala Sabry of the Physician Moms Group in a Facebook post.
The umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, the baby was coming faster than expected, and the woman's doctor was on her way in and hadn't arrived at the hospital yet.
So sensing the urgent nature of the situation, Dr. Hess jumped into action.
Sabry quoted Hess who described how she threw on another gown to "cover my backside, put some splash boots on over my flip flops" and quickly got to work.
"She literally worked until the last second!!" wrote Sabry.
With the help of Dr. Hess, the patient, Leah Halliday Johnson, delivered a healthy baby girl, a child who now shares the same birthday as the doctor's newborn.
After coming to the patient's aid, Hess returned to her own hospital room and later herself gave birth to a baby girl.
It turns out that Hess had seen Halliday Johnson, just the previous week for a prenatal check-up.
"Those mamas are bonded for life!" wrote Sabry.
As a mother of three, Dr. Sabry founded the Physician Moms Group, which aims to provide social, educational and professional support to other doctors who are mothers.
"We do this in hopes to recruit and retain women in medicine as well as address workplace stressors to increase job satisfaction which we hope will lead to improved patient care," the Southern California-based emergency medicine physician told KTVU.
Sabry congratulated Hess for going above and beyond.
"Doctor moms consistently take care of their own families as well as their patients and their respective families all the time," wrote Sabry.
"Great job, Dr. Hess!" she added and told her to now go enjoy her well deserved maternity leave.