Magen David Adom (MDA) EMT and Medi-Cycle first responder Lita Barzan, a resident of KIryat Ata, north of Haifa, woke one recent morning with contractions. But she did not think that a birth was imminent, since she was only in her 7th month of gestation.
20 minutes later, though, she felt the baby crowning. Her husband, Galor, immediately called MDA’s 101 emergency dispatch center and went to keep an eye on the couple’s three older children. Lita, meanwhile, under the guidance of MDA EMT and dispatcher Moti Rokach, began to deliver her own baby.
She kept a cool head, and within minutes the baby was born. MDA EMTs and Paramedics arrived moments later, assessed the situation both mother and baby, and evacuate them to the nearest hospital.
“The birth was very quick, relatively,” Barzan recalled. “Immediately after the birth, the baby began to cry. I was fairly calm and tried to calm down both my husband and my other children who were in the house. I had a hard time believing I was giving birth so early before my due date, and that I delivered my own baby. In fact, when I realized what was going on, I became emotional. I can sincerely say this was one of the best experiences of my life.”
Sarah-El, Lita’s oldest daughter, said, “The birth of my baby brother was initially stressful and then exciting. I woke up to get ready for school and saw my mother giving birth in a bedroom in our house. This is not something I ever expected to happen. I called my aunt, who is also an EMT with MDA, and she calmed me and my siblings down. I relaxed once I saw my cute baby brother.”