TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — When a woman suddenly went into labor on Saturday morning (Feb. 5) in Taichung, her firefighter husband had to deliver the baby using his emergency medical skills.

Liberty Times reported that the couple living in Xitun District had checked into the hospital early that morning as the mother surnamed Wu (吳), who was carrying her third child, had begun to show early signs of labor. However, the couple returned home due to COVID-19 concerns to wait until Wu was in later stages of labor.

At around 5:30 a.m., Wu unexpectedly started to give birth. Her husband, a Changhua County firefighter, had to make use of his emergency medical skills to deliver the baby while calling the Taichung Fire Bureau for help.

The Taichung Fire Bureau dispatched three technicians, including certified paramedic Chang Yu-chuan (張育銓), and a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) from the Liming Team to Wu and her husband’s residence. When the four arrived, the baby had already crowned, according to Liberty Times.

Under Chang’s direction, the EMTs used an emergency delivery kit to help deliver the baby girl, making sure to check for signs of a nuchal cord. They clamped and cut the cord, suctioned the baby’s mouth and nose to clear them of mucus, wrapped the baby in a blanket, and conducted a health assessment.

When the mother-daughter pair arrived at the hospital, both were healthy and sound.

Liberty Times cited the EMTs’ captain Chen Po-yang (陳柏仰) as saying that usually when the fire bureau receives reports of women in labor, the team’s job is to send them to hospitals as quickly as possible. Wu’s case provided the team members the opportunity to witness first-hand and participate in the process of childbirth, which was a particularly special experience for two of the unmarried EMTs at the scene.