Roughly 50 miles separate Stockton from UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, mostly along Highway 99. But the route felt much further one fateful night in June for Jazmin Quijano.
She was 22 weeks and 3 days pregnant and experiencing back labor. She went to her local hospital and was told that they weren’t equipped to care for a baby that premature if she were to deliver.
UC Davis Children’s Hospital was the nearest hospital that could handle such an early delivery. Its Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the highest level available, cares for premature babies as young as 22 weeks gestation.
It was after midnight when she and her partner packed up their blue Honda to drive north to UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
Just over a half hour into the drive, she wondered if they would even make it. Her contractions were getting stronger and more frequent.
“By the time we got to Elk Grove, I said, ‘We need to call 9-1-1,’” remembered Jazmin. Her partner worried they might not get the immediate care they needed and would be left waiting on the side of the road.
They soldiered on toward the hospital — and almost made it.
Near the 12th Avenue freeway exit in South Sacramento, Jazmin felt a rush of warm fluid.
Their baby girl was born in the front passenger seat.
Firefighters to the rescue
The baby was still in its amniotic sac, when Jazmin called 9-1-1 and connected with the emergency dispatcher who assured her that first responders were on their way. The dispatcher then walked her through the steps to break the sac and perform CPR on her baby. Jazmin, a mother for the first time, wrapped her baby in a sweatshirt to keep her warm.
Of all the medical emergencies that Sacramento Fire Department Engine 6 responds to, this one stood out.
“The call came in at 2 a.m. Most of us have had labor and delivery calls, but not for someone this premature,” said Engine 6 Capt. David Fike, who was called to the scene that morning.
Firefighter Eric Chin said it was extremely stressful once they realized the nature of the call.
Five firefighters arrived within five minutes.
Chin opened the car’s front passenger door and Jazmin transferred the tiny baby, about the size of a pear, into his hands.
Once in the ambulance, the team continued to perform CPR, gently using just one finger on the baby’s delicate chest. They cranked up the heat to keep the ambulance warm. They dried the baby using towels and absorbent pads.
The firefighters called ahead to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit team at UC Davis Children’s Hospital so they were prepared to receive the patient when they arrived.
“When EMS brought the baby to our Emergency Department, the baby had a good temperature and a good chest rise,” said Janelle Beall, UC Davis neonatal nurse manager.
The Emergency Department and neonatology teams took over resuscitation efforts. The baby was then transferred to the NICU, where the staff praised the life-saving work of the firefighters.
