First Year Melrose Police Officer Helps Deliver Healthy Baby

MELROSE, MA — Almost a week after helping an expectant mother, Officer Ashley Baldwin is reunited with the baby girl she helped deliver.

With years of training as a registered nurse and as a first-year police officer, Baldwin knew how to think on her feet.

Last Thursday, at 3:09 a.m., Melrose Police and Fire were called to a home in the neighborhood near the Lincoln School for a report of a woman in active labor.

When she got there, Baldwin found a 38-year-old expectant mother in advanced stages of labor. By using her experience and training as a registered nurse, Baldwin knew the baby had to come out, and took immediate action to assist the woman.

Baldwin was there the entire time, assisting in the delivery of a baby girl while tending to the new mom, making sure both were okay before telling the Melrose Fire Department they could take them to the hospital.

The new mother and child were released from the hospital over the weekend and returned home.

The baby girl, named Avery, reunited with Officer Baldwin during a meeting at the Melrose Police Department on Tuesday. Aside from sharing photos of their second meeting and giving out the baby's first name, the family has requested privacy, and the department is respecting their wishes.

"Officer Baldwin represents an evolving brand of police officer. She is highly-educated, with a focus on health and wellness as well as safety and law enforcement," Chief Michael Lyle said. "I am very pleased with her work, delivering professional services and care to the citizens of Melrose. We are fortunate to have people like Officer Baldwin in our ranks."

Before joining the Melrose Police Department, Baldwin was an Emergency Department nurse at Winchester Hospital, and she currently also works at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Emergency Department.