Mask Does Unusual Double Duty at Birth

A mask came in handy as a woman gave birth outside a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, over the weekend. The mother wasn't wearing it, though. Rather, the baby's father used it to bind the umbilical cord, reports the Courier-Journal. Sarah and David Patrick had rushed to Baptist Health Louisville around 3am on May 9, only to find two sets of doors to the obstetrics pavilion locked. They didn't have time to get to the emergency room entrance, per WDRB. Indeed, Sarah's water broke as she was standing on a service road outside the building, David tells the Courier-Journal. "We're in the middle of the street, and she can't move," he says.

He called 911 and activated the phone's speaker function. By that point, "my wife is screaming ... 'He's coming! He's coming!'" Within seconds, their third child was born. As instructed, David wiped the infant's face, then looked for something to tie off the umbilical cord. As it turns out, his grandmother had knitted coronavirus safety masks for the family, and one did the trick. The family was soon whisked into the hospital, and mom and baby—Navi Bond Patrick, who takes his middle name from one of David's favorite film franchises—are doing fine. (More childbirth stories.)