A packed train in Manhattan quickly turned into a delivery room and straphangers became midwives, as riders banded together to deliver a baby when the mother went into labor while aboard the subway.
The 25-year-old went into labor while she was aboard an uptown W train at the 34th Street Herald Square stop around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the MTA said.
"I hear crying so I’m like I take out headphone I hear crying, I see a baby’s head out and I’m like 'Oh my gosh,'" said subway rider Bryanna Brown.
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WATCH HEREOne of the passengers on the train said the mother-to-be fell to the ground, and others quickly rushed to help her. Riders raced to tell the conductor what was happening, and he held the train at the station.
Moments later, the cries of a newborn baby filled the train car. Two women on the train helped cut the umbilical cord — using a pocket knife.
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SIGN UP "She cuts the umbilical cord shortly after police arrive on the scene and she had herself a baby girl," brown said.
The MTA has since nicknamed the newborn Baby W, after the train line she was literally born to ride. Her mother is Jenny Saint Pierre, a 25-year-old woman from the Miami area who was reported missing months ago by her family.
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"I’m overjoyed, answered prayer, it’s a miracle. I’m grateful to God," said Stephania Saint Pierre, her older sister.
Police in South Florida said Saint Pierre had been struggling with mental health issues. Stephania says the last time she spoke to her sister was in August. It’s unclear what led Jenny to New York and how she was able to fend for herself here.
"She doesn’t have family in New York. That’s why me and my mom are trying to get over there with urgency," said Saint Pierre.
Mother and baby were said to be recovering at Bellevue Hospital. The family hopes to bring them back home to Florida, where one day Baby W will learn her incredible birth story.
"I saw the video with the woman who was helping her deliver my niece I mean, at the right place, at the right time. Those things don’t just happen by coincidence," said Stephania.
