Early Tuesday morning, just after 6 a.m., United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Avigail Beer was awoken from her sleep by the sound of her emergency communication device, alerting her to a medical emergency nearby. A woman had gone into active labor and was in the middle of delivering her baby without enough time to make it to the hospital. Avigail, still in her pajamas, ran to her car and raced to the given location.

WhatsApp Image 2020 10 13 at 9.29.17 AM 1 1024x578 2
Avigail and Ruth with the second baby that they delivered

Avigail arrived at the address and found her colleague and fellow EMT Ruth Goldman already assisting the woman. The mother-to-be was in the middle of strong contractions and squeezing Ruth’s hand. Avigail quickly checked the woman’s progress and saw that the baby was visibly crowning. Avigail prepared the woman for delivery. 

 

Avigail asked the husband to bring a nylon sheet to cover the floor and then called for backup and an ambulance. Avigail and Ruth assisted the woman for the duration of the labor, until the birth of a healthy baby girl. The pair performed an APGAR test and the newborn responded well. The mother was also in good condition and the pair simply needed to go to the hospital for further care and observation. Avigail and Ruth stayed with the mother and monitored her condition until the ambulance arrived.

 

After the successful birth, Avigail returned home and began to wash her dirty pajamas before getting in the shower. As Avigail was getting dressed she received another emergency alert to another active labor in progress. The address wasn’t very close, but she knew the ambulance was further from the location than she was, so she grabbed her medical bag and rushed to her car once again.

 

Avigail arrived at the location, entered an apartment building and found the woman in the stairway. After a few major contractions, the woman insisted on going to the hospital to deliver her baby. Avigail helped the woman return to her apartment, knowing she wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time, and began to prepare her for labor.

 

The baby hadn’t begun to crown yet, but the woman insisted that the baby was coming. Avigail urged the woman to start pushing. Just as she saw a small head appear, Ruth, her fellow volunteer and partner in the delivery from earlier in the morning arrived. The two EMTs acknowledged each other with a knowing smile and got to work. 

 

The woman was in severe pain but kept pushing until her crying baby girl was born. The pair of EMTs again performed a successful APGAR test and monitored the baby as they helped the mother pass the afterbirth. After the ambulance arrived to transport the happy mother and her newborn, Avigail and Ruth parted ways once more.

 

“It’s usually the small things that make a labor successful.” Ruth commented. “When the team is working together, and everyone is calm and comforting to the mother, the atmosphere becomes more pleasant. That gives the mother an easier and safer delivery. Nothing gives me more joy than working with my colleagues in unison. Today it was my joy to work with Avigail and  successfully aid in delivering two healthy baby girls into the world.”

 

Avigail summed up her eventful morning and said: “Last night we suffered many losses as a nation due to the cruel coronavirus. This morning we delivered two healthy baby girls. This showed me that even in dark times, it is always balanced out by good. When I was in my car on the way to the emergency I could see the sunrise, and I thought to myself, the sun is just rising and I’m on my way to save a life.”

To support the work of volunteers like Avigail and Ruth click here: