911 operator calmly walks expectant mom through a surprise at-home delivery

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — When a 911 call came in reporting a Nashville woman going into sudden labor, 911 dispatcher Kaitlyn Kramer said her training paid off as she successfully guided the expectant mother and bystanders into delivering a healthy baby boy.

During the July 7 phone call, Kramer can be heard having a calm voice guiding the process, while the voices on the other end became increasingly intense as the mother’s water broke and the baby’s head began to curl.

Kramer is a training officer for Nashville Emergency Communications Department.

“Whatever the call is, you have to be able to maintain control,” Kramer said, adding that she herself had to remember to stay calm.

“We’re going to do this together,” Kramer tells a friend of the mother on the phone. Moments later, the caller excitedly shouts that the baby has been born, but mentions that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.

Kramer said bystanders were able to free the baby and Kramer could soon hear his first cry through the phone.

“When I think about a baby that’s just born, the most important thing to me is I want to hear them cry,” Kramer said. “And he did that on his own.”

The entire conversation lasted about 8 minutes before the ambulance arrived and Kramer was able to congratulate the mother and bystanders for their good work. The family did not respond to a request for an interview.

“I think my favorite part of this whole thing was there was a younger child in the room, maybe 7 to 10 years old,” Kramer said. “She started talking to the baby and welcoming him into the world. And that just melted my heart.”

Kramer said this was the second time she had assisted with a birth through the 911 helpline.

“We get a lot of grief here. Our work is hard,” Kramer said. “This is one of the things that reminds me that what I do is important … it just makes me happy to do what I do.”