Woman Goes into Labor at Bass Pro Shop’s Wonders of Wildlife, Delivers Baby at the Aquarium

The medical dispatcher who coached the parents over the phone said the delivery took about four minutes
Looking at the entrance to Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium.
The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is located next door to Bass Pro's flagship store in Springfield, Missouri. Photo via Facebook / Wonders of Wildlife

A mother-to-be had a memorable visit to Bass Pro’s Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Missouri on Wednesday, when she went into labor near the fish tanks. She and the father successfully delivered their baby right there at the aquarium as an EMS dispatcher walked them through the process over the phone, according to Ozarks First News.

“These parties were calm and very helpful,” said Eli Snider, the senior emergency medical director for Mercy EMS, who was on the line coaching the parents through the birth. “They were willing to do what you asked them to do.”

Snider told the local news outlet that he was on the phone with the family within a minute of the 911 call. He said the whole delivery took less than five minutes, and that everything had gone smoothly by the time an ambulance arrived to take the mother and her newborn to a nearby hospital.

“I’d say a total of four minutes went by before the baby was born — about seven minutes before an ambulance arrived,” said Snider. He added that it was one of the only times he’s handled a delivery entirely by phone. “It’s a great feeling to help someone bring life into this world.”

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Billed as “the largest immersive wildlife attraction in the world,” Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is located next door to Bass Pro Shops’ flagship store in Springfield. The Wonders of Wildlife campus spans 350,000 square feet and is bigger than the public exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. It houses more than 35,000 live animals, with more than 800 different species of fish and wildlife represented. 

It’s unclear if any Wonders of Wildlife employees were on hand for the delivery. Bass Pro Shops did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Outdoor Life. Hopefully the new mom at least gets a Bass Pro gift card.

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Dac Collins

News Editor

Dac Collins is the News Editor at Outdoor Life. He helps tell the latest stories about America’s hunters and anglers while reporting on critical conservation issues, oftentimes with a fly rod or shotgun in hand. He lives in Colorado with his wife and son.


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