Fort Meade Emergency Responders Deliver Baby En Route

By Lisa R. RhodesFebruary 5, 2013

Fort Meade EMT's deliver baby on the way to the hospital
Trisha Griffin and her husband, Spc. Joshua Griffin of the 741 Military Intelligence Battalion, are the proud parents of 7-week-old daughter Aveleen Joy. With the assistance of Fort Meade paramedics, Aveleen Joy was delivered Dec. 13 on Route 32 en r... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Just 12 days before Christmas, a military spouse delivered her fifth child on Route 32 West with the assistance of a Fort Meade firefighter and two paramedics.

"It's always amazing to watch a baby be born," said firefighter and driver operator Shaun Bagley of the Fort Meade Fire and Emergency Services.

After giving birth to four children, Trisha Griffin was sure she was in labor and about to deliver when she and her husband drove to Howard County General Hospital the morning of Dec. 13.

"They said they expected it could be a couple of days [before delivery]," said Griffin, wife of Spc. Joshua Griffin of the 741 Military Intelligence Battalion.

Griffin's contractions were about six minutes apart, but she followed the medical advice and returned to her Potomac Place home with her husband and children.

But by 3:30 p.m., the contractions intensified.

"I told my husband we were ready to go," Griffin said.

Her husband called a family friend to baby-sit the children. When she didn't answer the phone, he decided to drive the family to their friend's house in Meuse Forest. After bringing the children, ages 2 to 6, into the home, Joshua Griffin discovered that his wife's water had broke while she was waiting in their minivan.

"I knew we weren't going to get to the hospital in time," he said.

It was close to rush hour and his wife's contractions "were pretty bad," he said.

Joshua Griffin called for an ambulance, but he feared he might have to deliver the baby himself and cleared out the back of the minivan.

Minutes later, Bagley and crew arrived on Engine 452. They immediately assessed Griffin's condition.

Soon after, paramedics Carrie Sosnowich and Robert Brown from Fort Meade Emergency Medical Services arrived.

"She was in active labor, in moderate distress and did not want to be moved," Sosnowich said. "[The couple] had just returned from the hospital after being told they weren't having a baby that day."

The emergency responders determined that it was best to take the mother back to Howard County General. The crew called ahead to announce their pending arrival.

Griffin was moved from the minivan to a cot in the ambulance. Her husband rode in the front of the ambulance with Bagley, the driver, while the paramedics tended to Griffin. The other firefighters drove Engine 452 back to the Directorate of Emergency Services.

The ambulance left the installation via Route 32 West.

"During the transport, the paramedics determined that delivery was imminent and advised firefighter Bagley to pull over to the side of Route 32," Bagley later wrote in a report to Lt. Col. J. Darrell Sides, director of DES.

Bagley stopped at the side of the road and went into the patient compartment to assist the paramedics with the delivery.

After the paramedics told her to push, Griffin pushed twice and 7-pound Aveleen Joy was born at 4:35 p.m.

"The birth was uncomplicated for us, and Mom and Dad did great," Sosnowich said.

In his report Bagley wrote:

"The baby was in no apparent distress and appeared healthy. The baby girl was warmed and dried, and placed with the mother while the father was allowed to cut the umbilical cord."

The paramedics notified the hospital that they were bringing in two patients.

When the ambulance arrived at the emergency room, Trisha Griffin said the entire ER staff crowded around the emergency room door, cheering and clapping.

She and the baby were quickly examined before they were taken to the maternity ward, where they were transferred to the care of the hospital.

Trisha Griffin said the experience was a bit traumatic, but the outcome was well worth it.

Although he was nervous that he might have to deliver the baby, Griffin's husband said he was confident everything would go well once the emergency responders arrived.

"It is a good story to tell Aveleen someday," he said.

The emergency responders were touched by the birth, as well.

"Overall, this experience couldn't have gone better from my experience," Sosnowich said. "Mom and Dad handled everything that came at them and stayed strong."

Trisha Griffin said her daughter's name, Aveleen Joy, means "desired joy."

"She was a great joy to everyone involved," she said.

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