Keyanna Rivera was expecting no more than a routine checkup just to make sure her pregnancy was progressing safely. Her little boy, however, had other plans, demanding to be born even with the doctor not around.
Rivera arrived at the doctor's office at around 11:30 am in Newark. She was told her doctor, Meena Devalla, was stuck in Belleville at the Clara Maass Medical Center. Rivera decided to sit and patiently wait, but her water broke. She had no choice but to give birth right there and then, but the problem was that not only was the doctor not present, but the only medical assistant there had also never delivered a baby before.
"His head was just hanging there. Yes, he was ready," recounted Rivera.
There was little time to spare, so they turned to FaceTime to bring little Raphael into the world. Fortunately, Rivera had a relatively easy delivery, with everything over in only 20 minutes. She also didn't require pain killers or other medication.
"I just instructed them how to cut the clamp and where to cut it and make sure it was clamped properly to make sure the baby could breathe. Thanks to FaceTime it helped, the technology really helped," said Devalla.
Rivera shared that she was also surprised her husband didn't faint at having to watch the delivery. He helped by holding the cell phone up during the delivery so the doctor could give the medical assistant step-by-step instructions.
Oswalda Torres, Devalla's medical assistant, was nervous but very thankful that everything worked out, and Rivera and Raphael are doing great. Until Rivera went into labor, Torres had not only never delivered a baby before but never used FaceTime either.
Rivera now has a whole new perspective on technology, but she said that she would rather not have another baby again via FaceTime.
The Apple service allows users to make video calls over Wi-Fi from any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac. Calls over cellular networks may also be made via FaceTime on iPhones and iPads. Samsung, however, claims that Apple infringed on one of its patents awarded in 1994 for video compression when FaceTime was rolled out. There isn't a direct alternative for FaceTime, but those with Android handsets may take advantage of Google Hangouts and Skype for a similar service.
Photo: Ryan Tir | Flickr
