Pregnant Doctor Delivers A Baby Shortly Before Giving Birth Herself

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A doctor in Kentucky who checked into the hospital to give birth to her own child, found herself back on call, delivering the baby of another woman first, after the patient had complications.

Obstetrician Amanda Hess was arranging to be induced for the birth of her second child when she and her husband heard cries of distress from another patient in the hallway.

Hess recognized the woman, Leah Halliday Johnson – she was someone she had examined a few days earlier at her medical practice. Hess was not the woman’s regular doctor, who was still on his way to the hospital. Hess did what came naturally as the baby was showing signs of distress.

“I said, ‘You know, I’m not on call. I’m here in a gown, but I think we ought to have the baby,’” she recalled

Halliday Johnson, who was about to deliver her fourth child, said that she recognized Hess immediately but didn’t think she was in the hospital as a patient herself.

“The clues were there. My husband noticed that she was in a hospital gown, but at that point I was so relieved to see one of my doctors that I was just ready to move it along,” she said.

Hess then grabbed a second hospital gown to cover up and slipped some cloth booties over her flip-flops.

She delivered Halliday Johnson’s daughter.

“The baby was great! Came out screaming and crying,” she said.

Hess didn’t think she would be working on the day of her birth, although she had planned to work late into her pregnancy.

“It was a 10 pound baby. I thought, this was the way to go out,” she said. “I thought, ‘A great big baby, I’m working up until the last minute!’ and then this came. I couldn’t have predicted this. This is definitely working until the very last second.”

About an hour later, Hess started the medication for her induction and immediately went into labor and delivered a healthy girl.

Halliday Johnson was thankful for what Hess did.

“It just goes to show you what an amazing person she is, what an amazing woman and mother and doctor,” she said.