Teen Finds Age 7 Cousin at Door, Runs Outside to Find Aunt in Early Labor
Imagine you are 16 years old, hanging out at home on a Saturday. Out of nowhere, there’s a knock at the door and it’s your seven-year-old cousin, who announces her mother is in the car, about to have a baby.
Morlie Hayes had the unexpected shock and privilege of navigating such an unimaginable scenario. With poise and confidence, the Eden, Utah teenager kept her cool and found herself to be an amazingly capable, albeit accidental, midwife.
Pregnant mother Laura Creager expected her baby to be born sometime around May 19. But when she went into labor, Laura knew she was much closer to her family’s home than the nearest hospital, so she stopped for help.
Morlie recalled her aunt blurting out that her water had broken and her baby was ready to be born. “I can’t freak out, cause once I freak out, my aunt is going to freak out,” Morlie remembered thinking, as she told KUTV about the experience.
Rather than freak out, Morlie called 911 and obeyed the labor and delivery instructions given to her over the phone. She also relied on information she’d just studied at school in her child development class.
“I just zoned in and was like this baby is coming, I know what to do,” Morlie explained. “I just was ready and had to mentally prepare myself for it.”
Morlie helped her aunt inside the house and into the bathroom. Morlie recalled a feeling of relief wash over her that, ironically, she had just cleaned the bathroom because her grandparents were supposed to visit later.
By the time the paramedics arrived, Morlie was cradling her new baby cousin, born healthy as could be. Morlie kept the baby warm and was wiping her down when paramedics took over to cut the umbilical cord.
Morlie described the entire experience as “amazing,” saying she even got to sign the birth certificate. The baby’s father and Laura’s husband, Wendell Creager, believes the birth happened exactly as it needed to.
Had the couple headed to the hospital at the onset of labor, Wendell pointed out, their baby likely would have been born in the car. The trip would have included a drive through a canyon, with no cell service.
“We could have been in a dirty car with soccer gear and mud from the Scouts and everything else,” Laura expressed. “We might not have been able to get a hold of an ambulance.”
“Here, we had everything we needed and we weren’t stranded in the canyon alone,” Laura smiled. In the end, the family feels blessed that Morlie was such a fantastic midwife.
“We are just so blessed that she’s here, everything worked out, that Morlie was here and talking to the paramedics to tell me what to do,” Laura said. They named the baby Kayla Faith Creager, the name Faith a nod to the baby’s incredible birth story.
“To be able to catch her and have that special bond, to me it’s tender,” a smitten Morlie said. “I don’t know, I am just going to be attached to that baby forever.”
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