New York paramedics saved two lives Saturday after a pregnant mother unexpectantly went into labor in the back of their ambulance.
Rosanna Roman, who was just 24 weeks pregnant, had been experiencing extreme vaginal bleeding when the City of Lockport fire rescuers were called around 6 p.m., the department said.
The expectant mother had wanted to drive herself to a Buffalo hospital, but her severe blood loss prevented her from doing so.
“I was thinking to myself, I’m not gonna make it I’m gonna die. The baby’s not gonna make it,” Roman recalled during a press conference.
Lockport paramedics Karen Gavin and Matt Devine quickly loaded Roman into an ambulance and rushed her to the hospital.
The crew didn’t make it far before Roman went into pre-mature labor.
“None of us had any idea that baby was coming, honestly, not even mom. So that was a big surprise,” Gavin said.
Gavin asked the ambulance driver to pull over so she and Devine could safely deliver the second-trimester baby.
The 1-pound, 10-ounce baby boy was born still inside the amniotic sac, which the team had to break open in order to begin the life-saving efforts, the LFD reported.
Sebastian Harris, the baby’s father, said his son wasn’t breathing until Gavin stepped in.
“He wasn’t responding in the beginning and then when she blew into his mouth, from that point on and he opened his eyes — she just kicked in — when he made that noise her mother instinct — I think that’s what it was — just kicked in — she wasn’t going to lose this baby,” Harris said.
Roman was injected with an IV to counteract the grievous amount of blood she lost during delivery.
Despite the scare, both Roman and baby Sebastian — named after his father — are doing well and the paramedics are being hailed as heroes.
“I was terrified for my own life. I thought me and the baby weren’t gonna make it. But Karen really did an awesome job in the ambulance and I’m so thankful for her,” Roman said.
“If I would have drove myself in the car like I was trying to, me and the baby probably would have both not been here.”