Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A Custer County man helped deliver his baby daughter in the front seat of the family vehicle when the child decided to enter the world days early and miles from a hospital.
Tessa Arp, 28, went into labor Friday night, 10 days before her due date. She, husband Quinten and their 7-year-old daughter, Rosalina, took off for a Rapid City hospital 40 miles away, but her water broke along the way. Quinten wanted to keep driving, but "she said, 'No, pull over, it's coming,'" he told the Rapid City Journal (http://bit.ly/1SjokEU ).
They parked outside a business in Hill City about 3 a.m. Saturday, and Quinten helped with the delivery.
"I got the blanket down there, told her to wait for the next contraction, and she pushed, and there was my daughter," he said.
The baby "just flew out, and he was there ready to catch her," Tessa said.
Quinten used an elastic hair band to tie the umbilical cord, following guidance from a 911 dispatcher. An ambulance soon arrived and took mother and baby to the hospital.
Quinten credits the smooth delivery and healthy baby to faith in God. He and his wife named the 7-pound, 5-ounce girl Arayah.
"The baby was perfect, and (Tessa) looked great, almost like she hadn't had a baby," said Dr. Angela Anderson, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Rapid City Regional who saw the mother and baby once they arrived.
___
Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
