Woman gives birth on Highway 4 near Ashkelon

A woman gave birth on Highway 4 near Ashkelon on Monday, thanks to the assistance of United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs Laura Zohar and Chagit Bitton.Zohar and Bitton were dispatched to the scene after the woman went into labor on the way to the hospital, according to United Hatzalah.The two EMTs arrived to find out that the woman was already in the advanced stages of labor within her car, and would have to give birth then and there."I was home in the town of Nitzan when I received the call. I work from home these days so I am there a lot. It took me less than four minutes to arrive," said Bitton. "When I arrived the woman was in the advanced stages of labor and I had enough time to prepare the surrounding for the baby’s arrival and then receive the baby. I instructed the mother to give a few last pushes and then I received the baby into my hands: a beautiful new baby girl."Bitton then gave the father, who was coaching his wife the entire way through, the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord. Zohar arrived shortly after to assist with assessing the baby after the birth.When I arrived, Chagit was already finishing with the delivery. I helped clean the child and make sure that everything was okay," said Zohar. "I wrapped up the baby and brought it into the ambulance to the staff there. After that, we assisted the mother and helped her through the rest of the process, and brought her to the ambulance as well. They were then transported to Assuta Hospital in Ashdod, in good condition.""The birth went smoothly, thank God. The baby was healthy and had an APGAR score of 10. The ambulance arrived ten minutes after the baby was delivered. Once the mother and baby were in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, I headed back to my home where I also work, with a great feeling," Bitton concluded. "This was a truly meaningful way to start one’s day."An APGAR score evaluates five criteria to determine a newborn's health status: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration. Besides being an acronym, it is also the name of its creator, the American anesthesiologist Dr. Virginia Apgar, who created it in 1952.Natan Rothstein contributed to this report.