Woman delivers twins in park at night across from demolition site
A Vancouver woman gave birth to twins late Wednesday night in a park in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, with the assistance of two Vancouver police officers who happened to be assisting with an emergency building demolition across the street.
Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham said officers found the 33-year-old woman at around 11 p.m. PT on the south side of Oppenheimer Park, with a "very small" newborn in her arms.
She was in "obvious distress," Fincham said.
When paramedics arrived, they determined she was still in labour. With the officers and paramedics assisting, she gave birth to a second baby.
The premature babies, a girl and a boy, weighed approximately 3.5 lbs and 4 lbs.
"The mother and the two babies are doing well in hospital, recovering," he said.
"The paramedics are at home sleeping, after a very interesting night," he added.
Fincham said the woman had been out for a walk near her home, and was caught off guard when she suddenly went into labour.
It was a lucky coincidence that help was at hand, he added.
The police officers happened to be at the park directing traffic around the 400-block of Powell Street, where a structurally unsafe building was undergoing an emergency demolition.
