Unexpected Baby Survives Front Yard Birth

Quick-acting police officers saved a newborn’s life after a woman who didn’t realize she was pregnant gave birth outside her New Jersey home according to NBC News.

Elizabeth Whitehead, a 21-year-old woman from New Jersey, had already been on her way to the hospital for what she had believed was a stomach ailment.

The woman was shocked to find out that she was in fact pregnant and giving birth in her front yard.

Police officer Vinnie Damiano arrived at the Barnegat Township residence to find both the child and mother on the home’s front lawn according to Medical Daily.

Damiano says the baby, who appeared to be about three months premature, was not breathing.

Damiano and Moore, carefully performed CPR on the baby boy, revived him and helped an ambulance crew clear his airway before he was brought to the hospital.

Moore stated, “Once I heard a little bit of the cry, it kind of made me jump a little bit.”

Medical Daily reported Whitehead was also taken to Southern Ocean Medical for treatment to make sure no further health concerns persisted due to the premature birth.

NBC News said neighbor where stunned, “Can’t say that I noticed that she was pregnant,” said Pat Faraldi. “She carries well.”

Earlier this month, there was also the case of 33-year-old Trish Staine who had expectantly given birth after a half marathon training session.

The husband was possibly even more shocked in this case of unexpected pregnancy considering he had undergone a vasectomy:

“Whose baby is that? It’s not possible. She didn’t gain any weight. Her face was even thinner.”

The claim “I didn’t know I was pregnant,” is always faced with skepticism, but it seems to be more common than some would choose to believe.

Dr. Diane Horvath-Cosper of Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota says she’s seen women arrive for treatment only to give birth to a surprise baby … seven times in seven years, she says, and that’s just births the doctor was present during.

Horvath-Cosper explains:

“I think people look at it and say, ‘How can that possibly happen?’ I can assure you it does … There’s a wide range of what’s normal in a normal pregnancy.”

In the case of Elizabeth Whitehead, the child’s father told NBC10 Philadelphia that both mother and baby are doing OK.

[Image via Shutterstock/Steve Lovegrove]