Baby girl Cielle Ray was born on a roadside in San Francisco on Saturday, Sept. 19
Credit: X/@SFFDPIO
NEED TO KNOW
- A mother gave birth to a baby girl on a roadside in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco after getting stuck in heavy traffic on Saturday, Sept. 19
- Medics arrived on foot just in time to assist with the delivery, with both mother and baby in good condition
- The family named the baby girl Cielle Ray, with her father saying they had joked about her mom having to give birth in the car before
A mother is “doing great” after she gave birth to her baby on a roadside while being stuck in traffic in San Francisco.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, at 4:40 p.m. local time, the San Francisco Fire Department responded to a report of a family who was traveling to the hospital to deliver a baby, according to a department statement on X.
They had pulled over in the area of Crossover and Martin Luther King Drive due to heavy traffic and called 911 for assistance. A San Francisco Fire Paramedic and American Medical Response (AMR) personnel were dispatched to help the pregnant woman.
Credit: Google
Although AMR was the first to arrive, they had to park two blocks away from the family and run to the scene because of the traffic jam.
Medics arrived just in time to help deliver the healthy baby girl, per the statement.
The San Francisco Fire Department arrived afterward and assisted the mother and newborn.
“Both mother and child were transported to a local hospital in good condition,” the statement said. “We want to congratulate the family and welcome this new child to the world. Her arrival is a true testament to dedication, compassion, and teamwork.”
Credit: X/@SFFDPIO
On Sunday, Sept. 20, the fire department shared a picture of the family they helped on the roadside, with the mother pictured on a stretcher and a man proudly cradling the newborn.
They revealed the parents had named the baby girl Cielle Ray.
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A spokesperson for the Global Medical Response (GMR) ambulance operator told the San Francisco Chronicle that the mother was “doing great.” The outlet and ABC7 San Francisco reported that the baby girl arrived on the side of the road in Golden Gate Park.
“We always joked around about giving birth in the car, never thought it would happen to us,” the father said through the GMR spokesperson, per the SF Chronicle.
He added that they took the usual route he drives to work, but it was highly congested.
“We took a route that I take every morning to work without issues, and just so happens that the day with the worst traffic is the last day we needed it,” he added. “But we were so fortunate to have the support that we did, especially some medical professionals that were sitting in the same traffic.”
According to ABC7. a doula was also in the traffic jam and helped coach mom Karollyn through the delivery before the paramedics arrived.
The SF Chronicle reported that Highway 101 through San Francisco was closed over the weekend, which may have contributed to the traffic.
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