A school that had been set up to house police forces serving in border areas, this morning became the birthplace of a baby. Minutes after 6 pm, a call alerted the eight agents of the police who were still on duty at the El Bochinche School in Los Chiles, Frontera Norte. It was a 17-year-old Nicaraguan minor who was asking for help since she was about to give birth.
The young mother was barely able to speak and the only female police officer present was the first to address her: “When we received the alert, what I thought was to ask her if she was having strong contractions, immediately answering yes, so I knew that it was time to prepare everything for the birth,” said Police Officer Karen Ovares.
The eight officers organized space to become new midwives. They all shared roles; a mission for which they were not prepared and forced them to prepare one of the corridors of the educational center to accommodate the mother; others ran for gloves, bags, and what could be used for the birth.
9-1-1 operator supported labor
One of the agents was responsible for calling the 9-1-1 Emergency System to follow the operator’s instructions step by step. “The officers did not know what to do, but thanks to the precise instructions of one of the 9-1-1 operators, today the mother and her baby are united and safe,” said Commander Cesar Anchía, who is in the area supporting border operations.
While the uniformed officers were doing their best to make the birth happen successfully, in another setting, but at the same school, the police were coordinating so that a unit from the Costa Rican Red Cross would arrive as soon as possible.
Finally, and in no more than half an hour, a new baby appeared in the world and the first to see it born, were the officers, with many nerves, combined with happiness, the agents applauded life. With a baby in their arms, the uniformed officers received Red Cross personnel who were in charge of transferring the young mother and the baby to the Los Chiles Hospital.
