Parenting

Trooper Assists Mom in Sidewalk Delivery

As we know, babies sometimes don’t wait for the perfect setting to make their grand entrance.  Over the years we have reported on newborns who have chosen just about every unique location to be born including a helicopter, subway, train, and even on Madison Avenue during rush hour in NYC.

Alanna Juliet Cheerman is one of those babies, and on Friday she was born on the sidewalk just a stone’s throw from the hospital.

newborn feet

Heidi and Adam Cheerman hadn’t planned such a dramatic birth, but had no choice when Heidi realized they weren’t going to make it to the hospital.

“I told my husband, you have to pull over, I’m about to have this baby,” said Cheerman. “And I got out of the car, pulled down my pants, and lay on the sidewalk.”

State Police trooper Michael Close was just finishing his shift when he spotted the couple in distress.

“When you see a woman screaming like that, your mind races,” Close said at a press conference at the Milton barracks Friday. “But she just kept saying ‘I’m having a baby! I’m having a baby!’”

Only 200 meters from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Heidi’s labour was too far along so Officer Close grabbed a medical bag and some blankets from the back of his cruiser and told the new mom to give one big push.

Massachusetts General Hospital

A couple minutes later baby Alanna made her debut.

“I wasn’t even concerned about me, I was laying half-naked on the side of the road with cars driving by,” Heidi told the Boston Globe. “I just wanted to make sure my daughter was OK. It was all about her.”

Paramedics arrived with an ambulance, cut the umbilical cord, and took mother, father, and baby to the hospital. Officer Close said the whole incident lasted about 20 minutes, but “it felt like forever.”

Mom and baby are doing well, and are already planning the baby’s first birthday.

“We’ll we’re going to have Alanna’s first birthday out on Storrow Drive,” she joked. “Michael will have to be there.”

About the author

Lisa Arneill

Founder of Growing Your Baby and World Traveled Family. Canadian mom of 2 boys, photo addict, lover of bulldogs, and museumgoer. Always looking for our next vacation spot!

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