Flanders boy, 12, helps deliver aunt's baby inside their home, police say
A 12-year-old boy helped his 22-year-old aunt deliver her baby Friday morning at their home in Flanders, with help from a quick-thinking 911 phone dispatcher, police said.
Southampton Town police did not release the identities of the boy or his aunt but said the pair were at home on East Street when the preteen called 911 at 10:16 a.m. to say his aunt was in labor.
Police said a Public Safety dispatcher, Christopher Brenner, began giving the boy “instructions on how to help his aunt with the childbirth” — walking him through crucial steps while he and his aunt awaited the arrival of a police officer and ambulance crew.
With Brenner's instructions, and with "the cool-headed actions of a 12-year-old child," the mother successfully delivered a healthy baby boy, police said in a statement.
Brenner, who has worked as an operator for 31 years, said it was the first time he'd guided a caller through an active childbirth. The boy, he said, was "one of the most calm people I've ever had on 911."
"He told me his aunt was 22 years old, and she's pregnant," Brenner said in a phone interview with Newsday. "He got the towels and he did the whole delivery himself."
Brenner said he'd "love to one day be able to shake his hand."
Police said Officer James C. Cavanagh arrived just as the baby was delivered and assisted with the immediate care of the mother and child.
A crew from Flanders Northampton Volunteer Ambulance then transported the mother and newborn to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead.
With Joshua Needelman
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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