By Calvin Palmer
A New York woman gave birth on Fifth Avenue today just yards from a hospital where she was due to give birth.
Nurse manager Lucille Nassery heard a woman screaming from outside her window at Mount Sinai Medical Center and recognized instantly that the woman was in labor.
“There’s a certain kind of sound that comes from women who are about to deliver,” she said. “It’s not just a typical scream. It’s a whole-body scream.”
Nassery and other hospital staff ran out and found 39-year-old Elisabeth Brew, of Scarsdale, sprawled across the front seat of her SUV, with the baby’s head crowning. Her husband was frantically seeking help.
The hospital staffers delivered the 4 lb 13 oz girl to cheers from passers-by.
Passengers in taxis stuck their heads out of windows to cheer and exclaim over the baby. Drivers stopped to yell out: “Is the mother OK?”
A few minutes later, the second of the pair of twins, a 5 lb 5 oz boy, was delivered.
Both babies are healthy but will remain in hospital for a few weeks because they were born prematurely at 33 weeks.
Brew, who has two other children, was admitted to recover in a hospital room.
[Based on a report by newsday.com.]
