Mom Delivers Baby In City Hall Parking Lot
Pocatello’s newest citizen came into the world on Tuesday, and she did it right in front of City Hall.
Camille Gilbert’s due date was Tuesday, but when she went into labor, she never expected she wouldn’t make it to the hospital.
When she started feeling contractions, Camille called her husband, Tyler, to take her to the hospital. They made it only to the Maverick gas station at Alameda Road and Poleline Road before her water broke, and by the time they got to City Hall, Camille told Tyler to pull over.
That’s when the excitement started at the Pocatello Police Department.
“I saw two officers go out, and one was putting on a pair of blue gloves, and then two officers followed out the door, and I said to Steve, ‘There must be something big going on,'” said information desk volunteer Judith Easter.
And it was big.
“Our dispatch got a call that there was a female in the front parking lot on the city side that was delivering a baby,” said Lt. Scott Marchand.
He and three other officers ran out of the police department and across the parking lot.
“(We) found the car, found the mom and the dad,” he said.
And by the time police got to the car, Oakley Gilbert had already been born. Don’t let her face fool you, she’s already giving her parents trouble.
“We didn’t have time to do anything. By the time I got over there the head was out. She came out. We didn’t have much time to think of anything,” said Tyler Gilbert.
“We didn’t have time to panic. We didn’t have time to think about what if or where or when or anything,” said Camille Gilbert.
Oakley has an older brother Micah, and two parents who were more than capable of bringing her into the world.
“(Tyler) came around the side of the car and he said, ‘Oh my gosh babe, this is a baby,’ and I said, ‘We’ve got to keep calm and we’ve got to do this.’ And we did it together, and I think that was probably the best part for me,” Camille said.
Camille went to work today before going into labor.
The police said they were amazed at how calm and collected Camille was when they showed up.
