A 10-year-old girl has been praised as a “local hero” after she helped deliver her baby sister at home when their mother went into labour three weeks early.
Miracle Moore, from Missouri, was at home with her mother Viola Fair on 23 October, when Fair realised she’d gone into labour early and needed help. According to North Country Fire & Rescue, which recounted the “absolutely amazing, wonderful, feel-good story” on its Facebook page, Miracle’s mother instructed her 10-year-old daughter to call 911.
“Hi, I think my mom is in labour,” Miracle began the 11-minute recorded call to emergency dispatcher Scott Stranghoener, according to Today.
However, it was Miracle who ended up coming to her mother’s aid, under the guidance of the emergency dispatcher, who instructed her as she coached Fair through the delivery of her newborn daughter Jayla.
“She had Miracle dial 911 and what happened next was nothing but sheer awesomeness! Thanks to the calm, cool, and collected voice from the 911 dispatcher, Scott, with Central County Emergency 911, Miracle was able to help coach her mom through delivery of her newest baby sister, Jayla,” the fire and rescue department wrote on Facebook this week. “Miracle followed all of the instructions given to her over the phone, and when mom didn’t cooperate, she broke out her own ‘mom voice’!”
At one point during the call, Miracle yelled: “She’s coming” down the line to Stranghoener, who informed her he’d help her deliver the baby over the phone. “Huh?” she responded, before following his orders, while simultaneously comforting her mother.
According to the Facebook post, Miracle was also there to help receive the newborn just 10 minutes later, with the NCFR noting that, when baby Jayla arrived, “Miracle was there with a towel to wipe off her face and to help stimulate her to cry and keep her warm until paramedics arrived”.
“You did a very good job,” Stranghoener told Miracle following the birth, according to Today.
Emergency responders arrived minutes later, at which point they were able to take over from the 10 year old and transport her mother and her newborn sister to the hospital “safe and sound”.
In the heartfelt post, the NCFR then described Miracle as a “local hero,” with the emergency response team noting that it had gifted the 10 year old with a “special certificate”, a “pink stork pin (that EMS providers typically receive after delivering a baby in the field)” and a tablet “loaded with educational games and a special journal to document all the amazing things she has done and will do”. According to the post, Miracle also received a certificate from Christian Hospital Emergency Medical Services, while her newborn baby sister received toys and a personalised onesie from the emergency responders.
NCFR also shared photos of Miracle posing with members of the emergency response team, and proudly holding her newborn sister.
“NCFR could not be more proud to have such an amazing family in our community! We wish you all the absolute best! Thank you for letting us share in such an amazing time for all of you!” the Facebook post reads.
While reflecting on the experience with KSDK, Stranghoener also praised Miracle for heroically stepping in to deliver her baby sister, while noting that she did an “amazing” job.
“I learned pretty quick that we had a serious situation. We have a set of protocols that we follow, and she followed all of my instructions to a ‘T’ and did an amazing job,” he said, adding: “A few minutes later, we had another baby girl in the house.”
Fair expressed her gratitude to her daughter as well, with the new mother telling the outlet that Miracle was “really helpful” and she was “very thankful” for the 10 year old.
