Mom has healthy delivery at
Yongsan home, despite hitches
By B.R. Sargent, Seoul
bureau
B.R. Sargent / Stars and Stripes
Army Staff Sgt. Willie Hawkins looks on as his wife, Petty Officer 1st Class Lorinda
Hawkins, explains the circumstances of their daughter's at-home birth. Raquel Marie was
delivered by three family friends. |
SEOUL — Tight security and heavy traffic at Yongsan Garrison’s gates have
hindered many deliveries.
Unfortunately, when Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Lorinda Hawkins’ contractions
started coming five minutes apart, she didn’t even make it to the gate.
When her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Willie Hawkins, tried calling the Yongsan ambulance,
he discovered the number was listed incorrectly on the contact card.
Then, the ambulance coming to pick her up at their Hannam Village home crashed into a
parked car.
Fortunately, three friends came to her aid Sept. 13 — Petty Officers 2nd Class
Lekela Lewis and Caroline Scott, and Aretha Ross, a licensed practical nurse. However,
none of the women had ever delivered a baby, and had to call a doctor who walked them
through the delivery.
Adding to Willie Hawkins’ concern was Lorinda Hawkins’ family history.
She had had two nephews born with their umbilical cords wrapped around their necks, and
both died shortly after birth.
As feared, Willie and Lorinda Hawkins’ baby was born with the cord around her
neck.
"I was afraid [Lorinda] might see the fear in my eyes," Ross said. "I
couldn’t let her know."
"Every time she pushed, the cord was getting tighter," Lewis said.
Scott relayed instructions from the doctor on the phone.
"[The cord] was so tight around the baby’s neck that we couldn’t pull
it," Lewis said. "The cord was around the baby’s neck and under its arm. We
couldn’t get the cord until the baby was out."
"I thank God," Scott said. "I think the Lord was with us."
Upon arrival, the ambulance transported Hawkins to the hospital where the umbilical
cord was cut. Mother and daughter, Raquel Marie Hawkins, were proclaimed healthy.
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