A routine evening turned into a life-saving mission when a frantic father-to-be rushed into a hospital asking for help days before Christmas.
WASHINGTON — An Air National Guard medical officer turned a routine evening into a life-saving mission days before Christmas when she delivered a baby in the front seat of a car.
Captain April McClung, a nurse with the 130th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard, was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 23, 2025, when a frantic man rushed to the registration desk.
He said his wife was in labor in their vehicle parked outside on the curb. Minutes later, he returned to say the baby was coming, according to Joint Task Force-D.C.
McClung, who was assigned in Washington D.C., jumped into action.
“I’ve been a nurse for 28 years, specifically as an obstetrics nurse, and I’ve also worked in emergency care,” McClung said. “I knew that if the mother had just a little help, she would deliver her baby safely, and that keeping the baby warm would be critical.”
When she got outside, McClung saw the woman kneeling in the car’s passenger seat with the baby crowning and her toddler crying in a car seat.
She coached the mother through breathing and pushing while a doctor from the hospital came out to help the father complete the birth.
The team found the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck and McClung said she helped the physician safely reduce it.
She credited her time in and training for the military as why she was able to remain calm during the situation.
The baby was wrapped up in warm blankets and taken into the hospital for further care, while the new mother was taken into the emergency room for a check-up.
McClung said the moment was deeply meaningful.
“I knew this was a special and sacred moment for the mother and father, and I was honored to help,” McClung said. “Being so close to Christmas made it even more special.”