Sarah Swope woke up in severe pain, called 911 believing she was suffering a uterine prolapse, and within minutes was holding a newborn son she never knew she was carrying. The Parma, Ohio mother gave birth to Connor Joseph “CJ” Swope on June 20, with the help of Parma firefighters who arrived at her home moments after her call for help.
Swope told Cleveland.com that she reached down during the ordeal and felt the baby crowning, a moment that upended everything she thought was happening to her body. Her husband, Jeremy Swope, had persuaded her to stay home from work that day because of the pain she was experiencing, unaware that what she described as back labor was in fact labor. The night before, she had been out pulling weeds in the yard, with no indication that she was hours from giving birth.
According to the same account, Swope experienced her water breaking and severe cramps before the delivery. Parma firefighter Carter Adams was the one who identified that Swope was actively delivering a baby once crews arrived, and he assisted with Connor’s birth. Swope pushed for about three seconds before her son arrived, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces.
A Newborn Who Needed Immediate Help
Connor was not breathing immediately after birth, and Adams helped him breathe by repeatedly flipping him upside down, the outlet reported. Swope also hemorrhaged during the birth. Parma Fire Chief Lou Davis praised the responding crew’s professionalism, clinical judgment, and composure in handling the emergency, according to Cleveland.com’s report…