Woman gives birth in back of city ambulance

LACONIA — The city’s newest resident, born on Wednesday evening, just couldn’t wait to get here.

“There was a baby born in one of our ambulances last night when it was on its way to Concord Hospital,” Jason Bean, deputy chief of Laconia Fire Department, said on Thursday.

Bean said the department received a call just before 8 p.m. on Wednesday and picked up the expectant mother from the downtown area. He said that it was “the consensus” of those aboard the ambulance that they could wait the 30 minutes it takes to get to Concord, instead of diverting to Lakes Region General Hospital for an emergency birth.

“The general feeling was, they were going to make it,” Bean said.

However, the one person who wasn’t in on the discussion had other plans, and made those plans known as the ambulance was passing through Loudon.

“About 8:15, a baby boy was welcomed into the world in the back of our ambulance,” Bean said, adding, “Mom and baby are both doing fine.”

The mother and newborn were resting in Concord Hospital at the time of the interview.

Bean wasn’t part of the crew that assisted the birth. He said he’s been in emergency medicine for 26 years and, although there were some times that seemed close, he’s never had the experience of helping a patient birth a child.

“Having a childbirth in the field, of any kind, let alone in the back of the ambulance, is very rare. But, we’re all trained to expect it to happen and everything came together last night,” Bean said.

Bean noted that Wednesday’s excitement came when the department already had its hands full.

“Even though there were multiple calls and it was our backup ambulance, there was a paramedic and an advanced EMT available for the childbirth.”