Belmont first responders earn stork pins for baby delivered on Route 106

BELMONT — First-time mom Lauren Chaffee started to feel different during the end of her pregnancy, in August. Presuming she was in labor, she called Concord Hospital’s obstetrics triage team, only to be told to stay home. Around 2 a.m., she went to Concord anyway, just to be sent home less than an hour later.

By the time she got back to her house — not yet in active labor according to hospital staff — she was very uncomfortable. A warm bath helped, but nothing seemed to move the needle to break her water. Hours later, she knew something was really off, and Chaffee called 911.

Emergency responders answered the 10:44 a.m. dispatch call, and a Belmont crew arrived to find a mom with a baby crowning, and delivered a healthy baby boy, naturally, not more than 15 minutes later, on Route 106.

Following protocol, they “saw the baby was starting to crown. Lt. [Thomas] Ryan was actually the one who ended up delivering the child, it was his first birth outside of training,” said Assistant Fire Chief Matt Famolare. “They gave birth on 106, in the ambulance.”

Ivan Sebastian Chaffee was born at 11:22 a.m. on Aug. 22, weighing 7.5 pounds and measuring 20 inches long, to Lauren and Alex Chaffee. Both mom and baby are healthy.

“He is perfect,” Lauren said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Even after coming out of me, his head was still perfectly round. He’s perfect.”

Ivan was the first ambulance delivery for this crew, earning them official stork pins, awarded through Concord Hospital. Crew members include Call Lt. Andrew Frechette, probationary firefighter Josh Chandler, firefighter Jim Hayes, and Ryan.

The colored pins — blue in this case — are given to honor first responders who assist with emergency childbirth outside a medical setting. The recognition also praises them for their work in keeping everyone involved safe and healthy.

A stork sticker adorns the Belmont ambulance now, a reminder of the outstanding actions from those in the department. Leaders with the Belmont Fire Department also awarded the crew additional certificates for their swift response.

“We gave them our own certificate of recognition for what they did,” Famolare said.

Lauren, Alex, and Ivan visited the Belmont Fire Department last month. Lauren brought homemade apple pie and cards featuring Ivan’s footprint for all the crew members.

“I was definitely nervous. I remember them, but it was also just a blur,” Lauren said. “It was nice, because I was able to thank them, and give them my appreciation for what they did. They hustled and got here, and made sure [Ivan] was OK.”

Before calling 911 that morning, Lauren was at a loss about how to handle her medical situation. She had been turned away from Concord Hospital, and denied by hospital triage staff and told to stay home. She thought no one was listening to her.

“I cried on the way home, because I didn’t understand why they discharged me,” she said. “Over the next eight hours before [Ivan] arrived, each different person I spoke to was rude. Nobody wanted to hear it.”

The hospital "was overall a horrible experience. I’m very fortunate that the baby was OK, and I was fine. He came out healthy and he didn’t have any problems, and I didn’t have any complications,” Lauren said. “It could have been really bad.”

Despite not one thing going according to her birth plan, Lauren was glad the first responders were there to help, and especially glad to see them celebrated.

First responders "see all the bad shit, so to see the good stuff, it was nice.”

Famolare agreed.

“Usually, our job surrounds death and not pleasant things, so this was a good thing.”

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.