Miguel Dominguez of Flanders honored for helping deliver his baby cousin
Miguel Dominguez at Riverhead Middle School. Credit: Tom Lambui
A Flanders teen is being hailed for keeping calm under pressure this past August, when he helped deliver his aunt’s baby at home.
Miguel Dominguez, 13, was recently honored by the Southampton Town Police Department, which awarded him a proclamation for his bravery and composure during the delivery.
“He never wavered from anything that I said,” recalled public safety dispatcher Christopher Brenner, who spoke to the teen that day. “He did everything exactly the way I asked him to. I think he did an amazing job.”
Miguel was helping watch his three younger siblings on Aug. 2 when his mother, Alexsandra, told him to dial 911 because his aunt had gone into labor. As Brenner gave him instructions to help his aunt, the family anxiously awaited the arrival of an ambulance, the teen said.
The Riverhead Middle School eighth-grader said he also translated some instructions from English to Spanish for his mother and aunt, Sandra.
“I was a little scared, because the baby’s head was stuck and it was turning purple,” Miguel said. “They told me to lay her down, and then they told me lay a towel where the baby can rest. They told me to tell my aunt to keep pushing.”
Miguel’s phone call began at about 10:16 a.m., as his mother turned her focus to his three siblings — Alan, 6; Peter, 5; and one-month-old Alex — in an effort to calm them from crying, he said. His aunt eventually delivered the baby into his arms about 20 minutes after he placed the call.
Southold Town police officers arrived just as the baby was being born and took over tending to his 22-year-old aunt and the newborn, who was later named Rudy, Miguel said. Members of the Flanders Northampton Volunteer Ambulance Corps arrived next and transported mother and baby to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead.
“They told me I was really calm and I wasn’t freaking out,” Miguel said of the officers. “That’s just the way I am.”
Brenner, whose instructions to Miguel included getting clean towels and how to tie off the umbilical cord, said the teen was probably one of the calmest children he has ever dealt with during his 31 years on the job.
Riverhead Middle School Principal Joseph Pesqueira also praised Miguel.
“We’re very proud of him, and the fact that he stayed calm under pressure I think speaks to the kind of kid he is,” Pesqueira said. “He is a wonderful student who works hard and is a great addition to our learning community. We are very lucky to have him.”
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
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