Whirlwind delivery took on a whole new meaning at the Bump Birthing Center in Rowlett, Texas, on Sunday.
Midwife Kasie McElhaney was getting ready to deliver a baby — as she has done more than 400 times — when suddenly she received an emergency alert on her phone.
“It said there was a tornado on the ground near us,” McElhaney told TODAY Parents. “Then the power went out. Everything happened so fast. It sounded like the trees were going to blow down on the house."
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As the violent twister bore down with wind speeds over 100 mph, everyone in the room remained calm, including mom-to-be Mech Metiege, who had her heart set on a water birth.
“She had just started pushing so we needed to think fast,” McElhaney said.
That’s when McElhaney and her apprentices Lyndee Cleveland and Jordyn Zmolik decided they would move to the center’s windowless laundry room. Roughly the size of an elevator, it wasn’t ideal, but they had no other options.
Cleveland and Zmolik set up a makeshift bed with towels and soft blankets, and approximately 30 minutes later, Metiege welcomed her first child, propped up against a washing machine. It wasn't the water birth Metiege was envisioning, but it was perfect, nonetheless.
“We were cheering her on by candlelight,” McElhaney recalled. “It was pretty special.”
Metiege and her husband, Derrick, named their little girl Mekani, which means joy.
McElhaney shared a photo taken during the delivery, which has gone viral on Facebook with thousands of likes and hundreds of comments.
"Welcome sweet baby!" wrote one person. "The winds heralded you in with a rain of blessings! Good job midwives and parents!
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