A Kentucky obstetrician had to make sure her patient’s baby was born safely before she could give birth to her own daughter.
On Sunday, Dr. Amanda Hess was due to give birth to her second child, while Leah Halliday Johnson was due to give birth to her fourth.
Hess had examined Halliday Johnson during her pregnancy, but he wasn’t primarily her doctor at Women’s Care of the Blue Grass, where Hess practiced, according to Johnson.
Halliday Johnson stated, “I saw her three or four times and I loved her a lot.” “She wasn’t supposed to be on call because she was expecting a child.”
According to a Facebook post by Dr. Hala Sabry, who created the organization Physician Moms Group, Hess was being induced at Frankfort Regional Medical Center when she overheard Halliday Johnson preparing to birth.
Halliday Johnson’s baby, according to the post, was in trouble and required quick assistance. Although the on-call physician was on his way, Hess became aware of the situation and acted quickly.
She slipped on a pair of boots over her flip-flops and a hospital gown to conceal her back before getting to work.
In an interview with NBC News on Friday, Hess stated, “You know, I’m not on call, I’m here in a gown, but I think we ought to have the baby.”
Halliday Johnson stated she had no idea Hess was in labor and that the doctor handled the delivery with professionalism.
Halliday Johnson stated, “She was clearly in medical mode.” “My husband knew something was wrong since she was dressed in a hospital gown, but I was too busy on the delivery table to notice.” There, I was in my own world.”
Hess said she expected to work late in her pregnancy, but she didn’t expect to work on the day she gave birth.
According to the NBC News affiliate, her contractions started a few minutes after she delivered Halliday Johnson’s youngest child.
“I had really taken a call the day before, so I figured I was working right up until the last minute.” Hess told WLEX-18, “But this was literally to the last second.”
Although the two ladies haven’t spoken since becoming new mothers, Halliday Johnson expressed gratitude to Hess for stepping in.
Halliday Johnson remarked, “She’s obviously earned her time off.” “I value what she did for my family, and it speaks volumes about who she is as a woman, a mother, and a physician.”
It makes you feel better about having a baby girl knowing that there are women like her willing to step up.”
It was all in a day’s work, according to Hess. “I deliver other people’s babies on a daily basis,” Hess explained. “And I’m definitely more at ease delivering someone else’s baby than my own.”
