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Iowa paramedics deliver baby in ambulance

First responders arrived to the home of a woman who was going into active labor

By Amie Steffeneicher
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

WATERLOO, Iowa — One of Waterloo’s newest citizens couldn’t wait for the hospital to take his first breath.

A nine-pound baby boy made his entrance in the back of a Waterloo Fire Rescue ambulance Saturday afternoon, according to Battalion Chief Mike Moore.

Crews were called to a house on William Drive for an “imminent birth,” according to Moore.

“She was in active labor,” Moore said, noting he couldn’t disclose the mother’s name due to privacy laws.

The woman was brought into the ambulance, and they were about halfway to Covenant Medical Center, about four miles away, when she gave birth, Moore said.

He couldn’t remember the last time a baby was born in an ambulance in Waterloo.

“Chad Peterson — one of the lead medics — this is the first baby he’s ever delivered, and he’s been a medic for years,” Moore said.

He said the mother and baby were doing well at Covenant’s maternity ward.

“We go to a lot of bad calls and a lot of routine, mundane calls — this makes up for all the bad ones,” Moore said. “It’s just a good day.”

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