HONOLULU - A soft acoustic rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star playing throughout the halls is not an uncommon occurrence at Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC). The distinct sound of a newborn's cry at two o'clock in the morning, is also not uncommon here, where roughly 10 babies are born a day and the labor and delivery unit is busy around the clock.
What was uncommon to Army Spc. Yves Mullineaux on Aug. 4, however, was to hear that sound, at that time, in the Mountainside parking lot, where she just helped bring a baby into the world during her break.
"I love to take a lap outside mid-shift and that night I noticed a family that looked like they needed some help with their toddler," said Mullineaux, a behavioral health specialist assigned at TAMC, who has been in the Army for five years. "Only when I approached them to offer a hand, did I realize the mom was hunched over because she was about to have a baby, so I ran inside to get a wheelchair."
After being unable to find a wheelchair quickly, Mullineaux hurriedly called the staff on-duty to bring one to the parking lot and rushed back to assist the family. Mom declared she could not walk any further, so dad offered to carry her, despite also trying to tend to their understandably upset toddler.
"She said 'he's coming,' but both mom and dad were very calm given the circumstances," Mullineaux recounted. "She laid down on the ground and I helped guide the baby out. It was a boy. After I unwrapped the umbilical cord, I just massaged his back, then he coughed and started crying."
Once she knew everyone was stable, Mullineaux said she handed the baby to the mother and immediately ran to labor and delivery to notify the charge nurse, who followed her back to the parking lot. A wheelchair arrived on scene and the family of four was whisked into the hospital with the healthy baby's cries echoing through the hallways.
"Spc. Mullineaux went above and beyond the call of duty," said her supervisor Staff Sgt. Toshton Garcia. "She was directly responsible for the safety, well-being and preservation of life of a young mother and baby."
Despite having no training in obstetrics, gynecology, or labor and delivery, Mullineaux jumped to the aid of a family and remained calm during a very stressful 20 minutes. She said she was able to remain calm because the parents were pretty calm throughout the whole ordeal and her military training helped her react to the situation without hesitation.
The uncommon birth of the little boy was eventually followed by the common playing of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over the intercom, and few who heard it thought anything out of the ordinary had occurred.
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