MDA teams helped deliver a baby in the Jerusalem Forest.
Expectant couple Hallel and Natan Stein set off for the hospital after Hallel’s water broke. Along the way, the young couple dropped their two children off at daycare, picked up Hallel’s mother, and parked their car at a trail not far from the hospital.
To help induce labor, they went on a walk in the Jerusalem Forest. The walk proved effective, and sooner than expected, Hallel began feeling intense contractions in the middle of the trail. Natan called Magen David Adom from the trail and EMT Noam Benita guided Natan on how to assist Hallel over the phone while sending a mobile intensive care team. It was led, coincidentally, by her father-in-law, Moshe Benita, a senior paramedic.
The Mobile Intensive Care Unit drove as close to the Steins as it could but was unable to reach the couple on the forest trail. Moshe Benita ran for half a mile through the forest with his medical gear in hand to assist in person. He reached the Steins a few seconds after Hallel’s mother successfully delivered the baby under Noam Benita’s phone guidance. Moshe Benita transported Hallel and her baby on a stretcher with senior EMT Iyad Othman and paramedic-trainee Shira Bell.
“We didn’t think the birth would happen so quickly,” mused the Steins. “We are so grateful everything went well and we’re leaving with our full hearts and a baby in our arms.”
