Transit Blogger

Train Conductor Helps Deliver Baby Girl

I just love stories with a happy ending. Unfortunately this blog rarely contains those due to the main subject in question. So it is my pleasure to bring this story about a train conductor who helped deliver a baby girl on a Queens-bound this afternoon via a press release e-mailed to me by the MTA this afternoon:

A Queens-bound R train briefly became a makeshift maternity ward as one future straphanger couldn’t wait any longer to enter the world. It was just after 1:20 p.m. that the train crew was alerted by customers that a female passenger was in active labor on board the train as it sat in the Whitehall Street subway station. The crew immediately sprung into action, alerting the Rail Control Center (RCC) and going to the subway car that the pregnant mother was in.

Shortly after the RCC notified Police and Paramedics, the passenger’s water broke. Conductor Bretta Sykes, waiting at the station to assume her duties onboard an incoming W train, saw the commotion and entered the train. After assessing the situation, she told the mother-to-be that EMS was on the way. Being a mother of two who had also taken birthing classes, she suggested that the mother-to-be take deep breaths to ease the pain and slow down the process. However, at 1:29 p.m., the baby was out in a flash and caught by Conductor Sykes. “There was no time to do anything but help,” said Sykes, who’s been a conductor at NYC Transit for more than three years. “My motherly instincts definitely helped me think and act quickly. I caught the baby and used my coat as well as the baby’s father’s jacket as blankets until EMS arrived.”

Soon after the baby was born, paramedics arrived and took mother and child to Downtown Beekman Hospital, where both are said to be resting comfortably.

NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr., when informed of this conductor’s act, said: “I am not surprised that the train crew went above and beyond their regular duties to ensure the safety and comfort of the mother and baby. The men and women of this organization usually swing into action when called upon. We are very proud that Conductor Sykes was able to assist in the safe delivery of the baby today.”

Let me take this time to congratulate the new parents & most importantly Conductor Bretta Sykes for going above & beyond the call of duty. I wish only the best for all involved in the future.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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