Pregnant Ob-Gyn Goes Into Labor While Delivering Another Woman’s Baby

In a rare incident, a pregnant doctor, who was busy delivering another woman’s baby, went into labor herself and hours later gave birth to a boy.

Dr. Emily Jacobs, an Ob-Gyn at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics since July 1, was used to working 80 hours per week. July 28 was no different, even though she was eight-month pregnant.

Around 4 a.m. local time (5 a.m. EDT), Jacobs was busy delivering the second baby of her shift when her water broke in the middle of delivery room, Refinery29 reported.

However, she did not immediately realize what had happened and assumed the amniotic fluid covering her scrub was from the patient whose baby she was delivering at the time.

"It wasn't until I left the room when I realized that it was my water that had broken," she told ABC News. "I was freaking out a little bit because we were still seeing patients and [my supervisor] just kind of smiled and told me to go back in one of the triage rooms and wait for her to confirm that it was my water.”

Jacobs could not believe that the discomfort she was facing could be labor pain as her delivery date was not till a month later, on Aug. 24.

However, there was no doubt about what was happening once the contractions began.

“It’s funny how fast you go from being a doctor to a patient — and you’re freaking out,” she told Press-Citizen. “One minute you are in control, and then the next, you’re not.”

Most of her fears stemmed from the fact that as someone who has spent her time seeing the good and the bad of child-birth, she wasn’t aware of all the possibilities.

“I’ve seen the good and the bad,” she said. “And I was worried because I was about a month early. Ideal is 39-40 weeks, but my baby was 36 weeks and one day.”

Thankfully, Jacobs was surrounded by familiar faces during her delivery, including Keely Ulmer, MD, a colleague who helped her through the process. "I happened to be on Labor and Delivery, so it was a pretty special experience to share with a special classmate," Ulmer told ABC News. "She did a wonderful job and her husband was very supportive. I am grateful to be part of the experience."

Even though baby Jett Jacobs was born almost a month pre-mature, he was “happy and doing well," the doctor-turned-mother said.

For Jacobs, her surprisingly smooth delivery was also a way to break the ongoing myth that Ob-Gyns tend to face complication when it is time for them to give birth.

“The running joke in the medical field is that OBs seemed to always have complicated pregnancies and deliveries," she told the Press-Citizen. "But I think all of this will make me a better doctor. Now I can empathize with my patients 100 percent. When they tell me mastitis is worse than labor, I can tell them I totally agree!"