CLINTON —
Clinton County 911 Telecommunicator Marcia DeBoer recently talked a DeWitt couple through the birth of their child. It wasn’t in person, but instead over the telephone.
“She did exactly what she was supposed to do and I really thank her for that,” new mother Hailey Kitchen said.
This is the first time the emergency medical dispatch system was used to walk someone completely through a birth, which was assisted by DeBoer, a 911 telecommunicator for 18 years who has been working in Clinton since 2004.
Kitchen and boyfriend Ray Mickelson had a long day on Sept. 13. Her second child was due Sept. 22 and she began having contractions at 8 a.m. She called her doctor at approximately 11 a.m. and went to Davenport to be checked at Genesis East. Her contractions were about six minutes apart, but she was not dilatated enough, so she was to either go home or stay in Davenport for a while.
Kitchen and Mickelson stayed in town and went back later to be checked. Her labor was not progressing and she was sent home at 6 p.m.
Kitchen relaxed when she arrived home and took a long bath. At 10 p.m., her water broke. Mickelson called Hailey’s mother, Becky Kitchen, their doctor and then 911.
DeBoer was working that night alongside Kay Bates and Kelly Hosette when the call came in. Mickelson told her that the baby was coming right away. The emergency medical dispatch system gives different scenarios for emergencies and the proper instructions for the dispatcher. DeBoer remained calm and started going through the protocols for an imminent delivery.
“I just relied on the protocols to guide me through what needed to be done so that it could be a good outcome,” DeBoer said.
DeBoer asked questions and passed on the instructions to Mickelson, who then relayed them to Becky Kitchen, who was helping her daughter. Hailey Kitchen said DeBoer did a great job of keeping her boyfriend calm.
“She was telling him to tell me to breathe,” Kitchen said.
At the same time, Mickelson’s father watched the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Sophia, in the next room. The baby was born just a few minutes after DeBoer took the call. John James Mickelson weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19 inches long.
“Because when I heard him cry over the phone, I knew it was, you know, he was there and everything we had to do had gone well,” DeBoer said.
Communications Manager Eric Dau is happy that the system was used in this case. The emergency medical dispatch system has been in place since 2008. He pointed out that they have used the system for CPR, but this is the first baby born with assistance via telephone.
“I think it just shows that the system works very well that we're able to have a successful childbirth,” Dau said.
Dau, DeBoer, Bates and Hosette were able to visit Kitchen and Mickelson and see baby John on Sept 19. Kitchen said it was a great, once-in-a-lifetime experience to meet DeBoer and the others. They also brought her a diaper cake and other baby items. Dau agreed it was a great experience.
“But then to see him actually and hold him, it was an experience,” DeBoer said.
Features
Related Photos
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(From left) Hailey Kitchen and her daughter Sofia Mickelson are shown with 911 Telecommunicator Marcia DeBoer, holding John James Mickelson, Becky Kitchen and Ray Mickelson. Submitted photo
Discussion
September 27, 2012
Baby delivered with help of dispatcher
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