Baby girl is delivered in birthing center laundry room by candlelight during Dallas tornado
- A mother who was having contractions ended up having to give birth in the laundry room of a birthing center after a tornado came within half-a-mile
- Seven people crammed in the tiny room at one point, which was deemed safest
- Baby girl was born healthy while a tornado with 140mph winds raged close by
A baby was born during the middle of a ferocious tornado which struck Dallas, Texas with 140mph winds on Sunday night.
The tiny baby girl was born in the laundry room of a birthing center – deemed to be the safest place in the building as the power went out and hurricane force winds swirled all around.
Mom-to-be Mech, was in the final pushing stages of her labor.
The owner of the Bump Birthing Center shared a photo of seven people crammed into a laundry room for shelter as new mom Mech gave birth by candlelight to her daughter Sekani
The center were proud to announce the safe delivery of a baby girl by candlelight
She had arrived at the birthing center hours earlier at around 5pm after she began to have contractions.
‘She had just started pushing when the power went out and the sirens went off, and we had to shuffle to the laundry room,’ the center’s owner and chief midwife, Kasie McElhaney, told the New York Daily News.
The room is not a proper storm shelter or necessarily equipped to withstand tornadoes but it was the closest thing the center had to safe space where the mother could deliver a newborn.
‘It’s the only room in the center that has no windows, and it’s centrally located. So that’s where we went,’ McElhaney said. ‘One wall is brick – it’s probably not even big enough for a twin-sized bed. But we made it work.’
Mom had to give birth to her little baby girl in the laundry room which was deemed safest
Mom, Mech, dad, Derrick and baby Sekani are happy, healthy and grateful that all went well
People suggested names for the baby such as Stormy and Autumn Rain but they chose Sekani
Dad Derrick watched his wife battle on as he found a safe spot against the washer-dryer where he managed to take pictures of the momentous occasion.
Soon enough, a little girl nicknamed, Beauty by staff, had finally arrived.
Her cries drowned out the sound of the storm sirens outside.
‘Baby girl born in our laundry room with the tornado sirens going off, a tornado on the ground half a mile away, and no electricity…..by candlelight!!’ the center posted on Facebook, along with a photo of Mech in labor. ‘Welcome to the world beauty!’
A few people suggested weather-related names for the baby including Stormy and Autumn Rain.
When it was all over, new mom Mech said she wanted to tell everyone what the center had done for her.
Several television stations came knocking looking for good news among the carnage.
The parents appeared to be far more relaxed than on Sunday night as the storm howled
The National Weather Service confirmed that three tornadoes touched down in North Texas, including an EF-3 in Dallas. The tornado, pictured here, was just half a mile from the center
‘She loves it, She’s really excited,’ McElhaney said about the attention she and her little newborn, called Sekani, were receiving.
The National Weather Service confirmed that three tornadoes touched down in North Texas, including an EF-3 in North Dallas, reported WFAA-TV.
It damaged numerous schools and ravaged several neighborhoods.
Mom, Mech, wanted to tell everybody about how great the staff were at the birthing center and how they helped her despite trying circumstances