Powder Springs Officer Kathy Green's police academy instruction did not ready her for what she considers her most rewarding experience to date: aiding a young mother in the birth of her baby boy early Friday morning.
"Training does not prepare you for this. What training teaches you is very basic," she said. "This was woman instinct."
Green was patrolling in Austell when she received a call at 1:40 a.m. for medical assistance at a Waffle House on Florence Road.
When she arrived, she found Marisa Escamilla, 23, of Dallas in labor in the back of a minivan.
The mother —- now of two children —- had been on her way to Wellstar Cobb Hospital with her mother, sister and a neighbor, but with Escamilla's contractions coming fast and furious, they weren't able to make it.
Someone in the van called 911 while they pulled into the Waffle House.
"Everyone was trying to calm me down," Escamilla said. "But he was coming."
Green arrived and took charge. She radioed EMS and requested paramedics immediately.
"They said it would take four minutes. I told them, 'We don't have four minutes,' " Green said. "She had a contraction, the baby started to crown, and I told her, 'Put your legs up, you're going to have to push.' "
Within about a minute, the baby was delivered.
"I got there; minutes later, he got there," Green said. "Once he cried, I was able to relax. It was a lot going on," she said.
The police officer wrapped the baby in a hooded sweatshirt and placed him on his mother's chest. Paramedics arrived soon after, cut the umbilical cord and transported mother and son to the hospital.
Police Detective Lt. Matt Boyd said he's is not sure what form it will take, but he expects Green will be given some sort of recognition for delivering the baby.
For Green, just being there is enough. "I am glad to have shared in the moment," she said.
