SANTA CRUZ, Calif.- Late Monday night, a Central
Coast jail turned delivery
room. This time the officers responsible for
putting people behind bars, gave a new life a chance at freedom. It's a remarkable story from a Santa Cruz
County correctional sergeant who helped deliver his first baby
right in the jail lobby.
Imagine coming into work, not knowing you're going to end up
helping a pregnant woman deliver her baby.
Well that's exactly what happened to Correctional Sergeant Brian
Bjorklund. He said a 29-year-old woman,
six months pregnant was booked in jail Monday night for being drunk in public.
"Her behavior because of why she was in jail may have masked some of the
signs that she was in labor," Bjorklund said.
Bjorklund said she was evaluated by a nurse before she was released from the
jail to her brother.
"I stopped here and was getting a little more information from her brother
and another officer was walking her a little bit closer to the door," Bjorklund said.
That's when Bjorklund said she squatted down and looked like she needed to use
the restroom.
"She made it right here about two feet from the front door and her water
broke," Bjorklund said.
But in a matter of seconds he knew something was wrong and rushed to get
several nurses inside the jail.
"One of the nurses was talking to her and basically looked and checked and
realized that the baby was about halfway out at that point," Bjorklund said.
That's when in a matter of minutes the front lobby
of the jail turned into a delivery room. Bjorklund said everyone was in shock, including the mom. But he said she
had a team of people around her and the baby was delivered safely.
"It was something different. Doesn't happen here everyday. Actually its never happened here in the 20 years I've worked here," Bjorklund said.
Sergeant Bjorklund said the mom was rushed to the hospital
where she and her prematurely born baby were later evaluated.
