Clockwise from top: David, Jakob, Deegan, Megan, and Emery gather for a picture before leaving for home as a family of five. (Photo by Covenant Health/MMC)
As a labor and delivery nurse in the Family Birthing Center at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Megan Whaley, RN, FNP, knows a thing or two about childbirth. She has 11 years of experience and two boys of her own, but her delivery skills were put to the test on March 21 when the family’s newest addition made a dramatic entrance.
Megan was two days overdue and had been experiencing gradual contractions, but her previous labors had been hours-long and she was sure she had plenty of time. But as the morning went on her contractions got stronger, so she called her husband David who was at work in Lenoir City.
“She didn’t seem panicked in the first phone call,” remembered David. “I was at work in a meeting and an hour away. We thought we’d be fine, but then she called back and said we need an ambulance.”
“By 10 a.m. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the hospital,” said Megan who recalls the overwhelming need to push that signaled her impending delivery. [Read more…]
