Park Ridge paramedics help father deliver baby

PARK RIDGE, Ill. (WLS) -- The suburban parents of a newborn are thanking the paramedics who helped them deliver a baby girl at their Park Ridge home. The newborn arrived quickly, with complications that created a tense situation.

She doesn't look very happy right now, but that's because she doesn't realize how lucky she is. This newborn gave her parents a scare when she arrived in distress with no time to get to the hospital.

"I saw the cord wrapped around the neck, so I knew I had to do something," father Rusi Ivanova said.

As Park Ridge firefighters and paramedics headed to the home, a dispatcher helped Ivanova deliver his daughter safely.

"It was critical that they gave them the specific instructions to care for the baby as it was delivered. They did an excellent job," said Christopher Cleary, Park Ridge Fire Dept.

"They told me to put a finger and wrap the finger and get the cord off the head," Rusi Ivanova said.

"When we got there, the baby had been delivered, the mother was in good shape - she handed the baby up to us," said Aaron Kuester, Park Ridge Fire Department.

"They were the ones that were suction, stimulating, they got that baby breathing," said Bill Smaha, Park Ridge Fire Department.

The mother and baby are both doing fine at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

"As a family we're very grateful," mother Ivelina Ivanova said.

The parents may appreciate good emergency care even more than most patients; Ivalina is a nurse practitioner and Rusi just finished nursing school.