Morlie Hayes and her aunt Laura Creager with Creager's newborn daughter Kayla Faith Creager
EDEN, Utah — A northern Utah high school student delivered her aunt’s baby Saturday, days after learning about childbirth in her child development class.
Morlie Hayes, 16, was at home in Eden over the weekend while her mom was out running errands and a surprise visitor showed up: her pregnant aunt Laura Creager, who was going into early labor.
“My mom’s outside. She’s going to have her baby!” Creager’s 7-year-old daughter said through tears, the teenager told the Deseret News. The baby wasn’t due until May 19.
Creager thought she had another hour before she would make it to the hospital, but her baby was already coming.
Remembering what she had learned in class, Hayes told her aunt to lie down on pillows and towels in the bathroom. When Creager had another strong contraction, she pushed hard and out came a new baby girl.
“My 16-year-old niece delivered the baby,” Creager said. “She was amazing.”
When the baby came out, Hayes made sure the umbilical cord was not tangled around the baby’s neck and that her skin color was OK.
An ambulance arrived later, but by that point, Hayes was already cleaning the baby. Paramedics cut the umbilical cord, but the family said the birth could not have been smoother.
“It happened the way it was supposed to,” Creager’s husband Wendell said.