Teen Walks to Hospital With Baby Still Attached by Umbilical Cord
By Danell Swim
May 5, 2008
Xochitl Parra’s newborn was attached to the umbilical cord during a four-block walk to St. Mary Medical Center after the 17-year-old gave birth Wednesday in her home.
With her baby boy resting peacefully in her arms, Parra on Friday described the day she went from an ordinary high school student to motherhood in a matter of minutes.
It was 5:25 a.m., a supposedly normal school day, and Parra, who was home alone, was taking a shower.
“I felt his head coming so I sit down and pushed so he could come out,” she said.
The young, soon-to-be-mother had no idea what she was doing.
“I was just thinking about what to do and that’s what came to my mind so that’s what I did,” she said.Because her home phone was disconnected, Parra said she didn’t call 911.
“I wrapped him up and quickly got dressed,” she said. “I started walking and jogging to the hospital.”
Instead of walking the normal two blocks to Poly High School, she walked four blocks, from 14th Street to Linden Ave., in the opposite direction for a lesson in life.
Like a normal teen worried about what others would say, Parra refused to ask for help from her neighbors.
“I didn’t want to ask the neighbors for help because it was too early and I was worried about what they would think,” she said.
With her 8-pound, 3-ounce baby boy cradled in her arms and still attached to the umbilical cord, the teen rushed through alleys and across streets to get to St. Mary.”She came in the lobby and asked for help. She looked good,” said Doctor Jose Perez, director of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. “She still had the placenta and the baby was still attached, so of course everyone said, ‘don’t move!’ ”
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2 Responses to “Teen Walks to Hospital With Baby Still Attached by Umbilical Cord”
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Wow that teenager is very brave and craz…
why did she not have a phone connected for emergencys,
I wounder what time of day this happend - and why no one saw her that she needed help, this artical is very basic - but not written good about the story
(my opinion) It should have done more reasearch of the mother and the unborn child.
Sorry and (she didnt want anyone to judge her) Isnt qwite a story…