CONCORD, N.H.—Sometimes the timing just works out, and that’s exactly what happened when Timothy St. Germain, senior NHTI Paramedic Emergency Medicine student, and his paramedic partner NHTI PEM alumnae Brittany Lamontagne delivered a baby in the field this weekend while on duty with Tri-Town Ambulance.
While on their routine shift in the early morning of Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, St. Germain and Lamontagne got the call that a woman in labor needed transport to a local hospital. But on the way, the baby started to crown.
“I was definitely anxious, not knowing what to expect,” St. Germain says. “After it was established this was happening, my anxiety went down. The training [at NHTI] over the past couple weeks definitely kicked in. We really didn’t think of what we needed to do – it just happened without effort.”
The birth progressed without complications, and mom and baby girl were healthy. This was the first field delivery for both St. Germain and Lamontagne.
What makes the timing incredible is that, for the past two weeks, the NHTI Paramedic Emergency Medicine program, led by professor Keith Wilding, has been studying obstetrics with simulated childbirth scenarios. During the labs, each of the program’s 11 seniors, St. Germain included, “delivered” 4 infants in two scenarios with complications and two without.
“It’s almost as if it were a planned ‘final exam,’” says Wilding. “Happily the delivery was a ‘routine’ one and mom and baby are healthy!”
“If it weren’t for the training I got from the PEM program, I feel like it would have been way more stressful,” says St. Germain. “It almost felt like second nature after what we were taught. Especially the [NHTI PEM] 4-hour lab. My partner and I work together a lot, which I think helped in the situation as well. We were able to anticipate each other. After the baby was born in the back of the ambulance, I felt proud and excited.”
Tri-Town Ambulance covers the towns of Allenstown and Pembroke.
PHOTO CAPTION: Timothy St. Germain (left) plays “mom” during the NHTI Paramedic Emergency Medicine program’s birth simulation lab – days before delivering his first baby in the field with his partner NHTI PEM alumnae Brittany Lamontagne (right).
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NHTI – Concord’s Community College
NHTI is a dynamic public institution of higher learning that provides accessible, rigorous education for students, businesses, and the community. We create pathways for lifelong learning, career advancement, and civic engagement, offering 90+ academic programs to 4,600+ students annually. NHTI is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire and since 1969 has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, a nongovernmental, nationally recognized accrediting agency.
Press Contact Amber Gavriluk | 603-230-4001 | [email protected]
