Baby Delivered at CHI’s Marathon Health Center

Having a baby can be very exciting. But Ana Rivas has a story she will never forget. She welcomed her baby into the world on September 9th at Community Health of South Florida’s Marathon Health Center.

Rivas made her way toward the center for her weekly pregnancy exam with Dr. Sharon Ward, CHI OB/GYN Specialist. But she said she felt different that day.

When she arrived in the lobby, medical assistant, Vilma Del Valle, saw Rivas and asked her what was wrong. Rivas told Vilma she wasn’t feeling well and felt nauseous.

“I knew something was not okay,” said Del Valle. “I immediately went to check her vitals to see what was going on.”

When Del Valle took Rivas to the vitals room, she started moaning on the scale. Ana was experiencing pain every seven minutes.

“I quickly realized she was having contractions,” Del Valle said. “They came more frequently and ferociously every time.”

Del Valle quickly brought Dr. Ward to the exam room to check on Rivas.

“Mrs. Rivas was nine centimeters dilated,” recalled Dr. Ward. “We knew we had to keep an eye on her because she could deliver the baby at any time.”

Dr. Ward informed Del Valle that if her water broke, they would need to deliver the baby there.

Del Valle stepped out of the room for a minute and when she returned, she found water all over the place. 

“Everything happened very quickly,” said Del Valle. “At that moment, I just screamed YES because I was very excited to see a baby being born at our center.”

Dr. Ward came back in the room along with other doctors in the center at the time: Dr. Cooreman, Primary Care doctor, and Dr. Morales, Pediatrician.

Staying calm, Rivas leaned back, kicked up her legs, and delivered the baby. She swaddled the crying child in a blanket and held him to her chest.

 “It was a team effort,” said Dr. Ward. “It was all thanks to the people that were with us that made this delivery process so smooth and successful.”

In fact, Del Valle won CHI’s 

ACTion Hero Award for her impeccable work in helping deliver the baby. Del Valle’s effort to put Rivas’ needs first built a trust and comfort for the laboring mother. 

The little guy weighed 5 pounds and is 19 inches long. Rivas is thankful the CHI team was there to help.

“Thank God for the great team that received me and the baby and took really great care of us,” said Rivas.