Imlay City officer helps new mother deliver baby girl at home

Imlay City Police Officer helps deliver baby girl

Her name is Renesmee, born on Friday the 13th but pretty lucky. Mother Makenzey Hartley says she and Renesmee’s dad, Jesse Derusha, went to McLaren Lapeer around midnight on the 13th.

IMLAY CITY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A close call for a Metro Detroit mother who says she was sent home from the hospital, only to go into labor shortly after. Her baby girl was born in a bathroom with the help of the Imlay City Police Department.

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Her name is Renesmee, born on Friday the 13th, but she was pretty lucky. Mother Makenzey Hartley says she and Renesmee’s dad, Jesse Derusha, went to McLaren Lapeer around midnight on the 13th.

"I’m just thankful she’s okay. That’s all I can say. It’s a lot. What a wild story. It’s a wild story. I should’ve never went home from the hospital," she said. "The contraction test on the graph was like from 0 to 60 or 70, so I was having contractions. My pain tolerance was a nine. And then we got told to go home because I was only 2.5 centimeters dilated."

Shortly after they got home, Jesse said he saw Makenzey jump out of bed, saying her water had just broken. When he saw blood, he called 911.

"I was explaining to the operator what was going on, and that's when she goes, ‘You’re delivering this baby,’" he said. "I didn’t think I was going to hear those words. I’m like, what? I’m already shaken up."

Imlay City Police Officer Rob Velasco got the call while Jesse did his best to help.

"I was doing everything they instructed, get her on her back, get some towels. I took a towel and put it in my hands, and I’m ready to go," he said. "Just waiting. Just whoop."

Officer Velasco arrived, and he had never delivered a baby before.

"There was definitely a sense of, ‘Whew, he’s here.’ He’s like, ‘Look, it happens all the time. Women give birth.’ He was telling me that, and I was also telling myself that," Jesse said.

"Oh, it’s definitely an experience. I was kinda squeamish watching my own kids being born," said Velasco.

After a slight umbilical cord scare

"I overheard them talking like, ‘Oh crap,’ and I guess the cord was around her neck," Makenzey said. 

What's next:

Thankfully, Officer Velasco figured it out and Renesmee was born safely.

FOX 2 requested a statement from McLaren Lapeer. They say they are looking into the matter. 

The family says they’re just thankful for the officer and their baby girl.