911 Operator Calmly Walks Expectant Mom Through Surprise Home Delivery

Nashville, Tennessee — When a 911 call came in that a Nashville woman was in sudden labor, emergency operator Kaitlyn Kramer said her training kicked in as she successfully coached the expectant mother and onlookers through the delivery of a healthy baby boy.

The audio recording of the July 7 call reveals Kramer’s calm voice guiding the process even as the voices on the other end of the line grew frantic as the mother’s water broke and the baby’s head began to form.

Kramer is a training officer for Nashville Department of Emergency Communications.

“No matter what the call is, you have to be able to stay in control,” Kramer said, adding that she herself has to remind herself to stay calm.

“We’re going to do this together,” Kramer told a friend of the mother’s on the phone. Moments later, the caller excitedly shouted that the baby had arrived, but he mentioned that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.

Kramer said passersby were able to free the baby and soon Kramer could hear her first cries over the phone.

“When I think about a newborn baby, the most impressive thing I can think of is hearing him cry,” Kramer said. “And he did it all by himself.”

The call lasted about eight minutes before the ambulance arrived and Kramer congratulated the mother and witnesses on a job well done. The family did not respond to an interview request.

“I think my favorite part of the whole situation was that there was also another younger child in the room, maybe seven to 10 years old,” Kramer said. “She started talking to the baby, welcoming him into the world. And it just melted my heart.”

Kramer said this was the second time she had helped with a delivery through the 911 hotline.

“We’re very sad here. Our work is hard,” Kramer said. “That’s one of the things that reminds me that what I do is important… It makes me happy to do what I do.”