Save thousands by letting a State Trooper deliver your baby

"DCCARGEEK" (dccargeek) 10/09/2013 at 09:00 • Filed to: Babies

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Most accounts involving Florida's roadways are tales of some unimaginable and appalling tragedy, like humans eating other humans on the side of the road.

This isn’t one of those stories and while the topic of having babies in a car isn’t very newsworthy in terms of gore or motoring-awesomeness, there is a beautiful irony to it all; a highway gives way to a new life at the hands of a witness to the brutality of that same highway.

The Story: The Florida Highway Patrol posted the following message to their website last month about a Trooper delivering a baby while investigating a crash.

On September 24, Trooper Dennis Rich of FHP’s Troop C - Tampa District was investigating a traffic crash, eastbound Interstate 4 between Hillsborough Avenue and US Highway 301. While investigating that crash, a westbound motorist stopped in the center median for help.

The driver and his wife were headed to St. Joseph’s Hospital for the delivery of their new baby. The baby wasn’t waiting. The trooper was spotted nearby and was called upon to help. Trooper Rich immediately responded and moments later helped deliver a healthy baby girl. Soon thereafter, all were assisted by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and later transported to the hospital.

Outstanding job, Trooper Rich.

Yes, great job Trooper Rich. Now, get back to chasing people-eating zombies and Canadians doing 40MPH along the Sunshine State’s beautifully flat highways.

As alluring as it may sound to have your son or daughter born in your car, both from a cost-savings and automotive enthusiast perspective, my advice: let medical professionals handle the delivery of the heir to your motoring collection and let the State Troopers focus on mobile meth labs and rolling pharmacies.

duurtlang > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 09:10

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I never thought about it that way. Is delivering a baby in a hospital expensive? I imagine it's covered by insurance and thus free, but that might just be my European background.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:13

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Sadly, yes, your Erupean background betrays you. In some circles of US culture having multiple children is almost as much a way to show off your wealth as buying a new S-Class or a huge McMansion.

quote from Web MD: "The costs of childbirth can be steep. The charge for an uncomplicated cesarean section was about $15,800 in 2008. An uncomplicated vaginal birth cost about $9,600, government data show."

MrDude_1 > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:14

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Nothing is free.
Like any other healthcare you either:
1 Have no coverage. Owe it all.
2. Have a co-pay and pay some each month to insurance
3. Have no co-pay, but pay a huge sum in the form of taxes.

duurtlang > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 09:17

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I was merely talking about delivery costs. You still need to feed, dress, transport, school and house those kids. I don't think having lots of kids is a status symbol where I live though, more likely the contrary.

mrblacksheep > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:17

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It's not "free" even with insurance because... you know, insurance costs money. A hospital birth with anesthetics and no complications is between $3k and $10k. You can go much higher depending on options.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:17

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When my twins were born two years ago, they spent 10 days in the NICU until they were okay to go home. The total bill for the c-section and the 10 day stay was $120k. If we didn't have insurance, that would have been ugly.

gometz > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:17

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It's not expensive when you live in a socialist hellhole like Europe!

Wait...

Brewman15 > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:19

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Yes and no.

My son was born almost two years ago in a very normal, low-risk, and relatively easy (although I'm sure my wife would disagree) delivery, and we stayed in the hospital for two nights.

Total cost was $30k+. Insurance covered most of it, but it was still ~$3k out of pocket for us.

I thought that was outrageous until my sister-in-law delivered twins two months premature. Total bill for ONE of them to date is $250k.

Racescort666 > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 09:19

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Guess how fast I'm goin'!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:21

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Lets just say certain wealthy Tea Party members like rubbing the fact that they can afford to actually HAVE a child every time they have sex (as God intended!) in the faces of those who have financial considerations get in the way of thier responsibility to the church.

shortyoh > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 09:25

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And the hospital probably still charged them every cent for a normal delivery done at the hospital, knowing what theives they are...

shortyoh > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 09:27

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Yeah - and average costs for prenatal care through delivery in the US are now pushing $30,000.

The "royal suite" for Will and Kate reportedly cost only half that. THAT is how out of control our medical costs are.

Drew > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 09:50

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Everyone has "The Story" here's mine

My second child came early, really early. My wife woke me up and told me here contractions were either 10 min apart or 2 min apart, because if she would sit down they would decrease. I decided it was time for the hospital. This was 1999 and just picked up a new Dodge Durango (see car related). My wife was in the front seat and most of the ride she was in obvious distress. About a half mile from the hospital she announced that she thought here water broke and she had to push. I pulled over the car to take a look. She was right. The baby was on her way.

I delivered the baby while my wife put on foot on the dash and the other on my should. Unfortunately I had no tools to "disconnect" the baby. I also had to aspirate (suck the nasty stuff out of the baby's airway) by mouth. Placed the baby in my wife arms, did a quick APGAR score, and drove to the emergency room.

I went into the emergency room to get a doctor but the nurses had mistaken me for a gun shot patient due to blood on mouth(from aspiration) and shirt. I told them " notme, the baby!" They said " the baby has been shot" which I said " no th baby is still attached"

Emergency room informed me no docs to do the delivery. I had just finished my 2 year residency so I said bring the cart and I will finish. Which I did.

Long story short. Two weeks later get a bill from hospital and a doctor for delivery. Remember I did total deliver, including placenta, all scoring, and signing the birth certificate.

After the story ran in the local newspaper the hospital backed down.

funniest thing was turning in the cost of all the blood stains in the Durango. Even the leather seats were stained

My daughter is now known as the "Durango Kid" and dodge even gave her a lifetime membership to the Durango owners club.

runnah > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 09:54

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Thank god I have weathertech floor mats!

Resists mud, water and amniotic fluid!

Ntovorni > Drew 10/09/2013 at 09:55

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That is an AWESOME story. But...

Durango Owners Club? They have one of those? Hope its better ran than the Viper club.

MadisonSuicide > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 09:55

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I really don't the point of this.

So, an officer delivered a baby and now he should get back to the regular crazy there is around there. Ok...now that I wasted a few minutes on pointless...

MUSASHI66 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 09:57

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In what circles of US culture is a having multiple children a way to show of wealth?

abgwin > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 09:58

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I don't know how much training a highway patrol has in episiotomies.

Drew > Ntovorni 10/09/2013 at 10:01

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the first Gen Durango was pretty cool, but not so much now. Yep, would not want the politics of the Viper club.

mwatson2 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 10:07

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Eww gross, they let Democrats have children?


...kidding

deysg > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 10:16

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Vaginal costs are always an issue...

TiredAndSleepy > Drew 10/09/2013 at 10:16

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That's a great one. Glad you had training. I wouldn't have known about the aspiration part.

timateo81 > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 10:21

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Not the best idea to call a SHP. Anyone can deliver a "normal" and "healthy" baby, but if something goes wrong you're going to wish you had very smart medical professional nearby + the right tools.

My child was just born a couple of months ago. $26,000 bill from the hospital for services rendered AFTER he was delivered. Something did go wrong, so I'm glad we were at a good hospital. Insurance covers most of this, so I'm only out-of-pocket about 1/6 of that, but still. And it did include a few days in intensive care.

Infant mortality rates are insanely low these days. No coincidence that the cost of having a baby is insanely high these days.

totalize > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 10:26

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Not an answer to your question and completely anecdotal: My wife and I are US ex-pats and have been living in the UK since 2007. Both our boys were born here. The NHS uses as midwife system for ante-natal, birth, and post-natal services for uncomplicated births. It sounds arcane, but it is great. The midwives have seen it all. It's what they do, they do it well, do it with a great bed-side manner, and with a stiff upper lip when the going gets tough. Our first was an uncomplicated pregnancy, but we still ended up taking an ambulance to (the) hospital to give birth. We went home a day after the birth to ensure that breast-feeding was working out. Our second was also uncomplicated and we told the midwife that our birth plan was a home birth. She didn't bat a lash and we did the whole thing at home with an inflatable birth pool using only nitrous oxide (laughing gas) for pain relief (which is only allowed in a handful of hospitals in the US ). The benefit of laughing gas is that the effects are gone minutes after you stop using it. When it was over my wife and youngest took a nap and I made some tea for the midwife and me (we've been here too long). The best part of both births was that the thought of a medical bill or insurance company hassle was once crossed our over-stressed minds. Yeah taxes are steep, but when the shit hits the fan that is priceless. We've seen the future and it involves universal healthcare. Get over it.

Kugelblitz > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 10:27

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Shockingly, c-sections are over prescribed.

boxjohn > MrDude_1 10/09/2013 at 10:32

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Well yeah, but statistically speaking, public healthcare is a lot cheaper for a given operation/procedure than private. So if it's 20 grand cash, or 10-15 grand from taxpayers...

Not to mention the US already pays more in taxes towards healthcare than most countries with, you know, tax-funded healthcare.

Go Hawkeyes > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 10:38

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Don't forget the extreme opposite of which there are significantly more people: Having many many kids is just a way to show off your extreme worthlessness so that you can get more welfare. And who cares about the costs of delivery? Medicaid's got that covered too.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 11:04

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"As alluring as it may sound to have your son or daughter born in your car, both from a cost-savings and automotive enthusiast perspective"

That statement is sooooo USA-Centric..

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 11:06

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With costs like that, I would seriously look at getting a midwife and doing a home-delivery combined with inducing two weeks early to minimize the chances of needing a c-section.

JTSnooks > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 11:24

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What the crap are you talking about? I've never heard anyone bragging about how many kids they can afford to have. Between this kind of asinine statement and the news media hyping up gun violence it's no wonder people from other countries have such strange views of life in the US.

JTSnooks > Drew 10/09/2013 at 11:26

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There's a Durango Owner's Club?

And it costs MONEY??

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > JTSnooks 10/09/2013 at 11:28

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Oh it's not BRAGING, it's just showing off... and sure, it's a minority, but I have *MET* them. Some of them are perfectly nice people as long as you don't disagree about God or Politics.

JTSnooks > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/09/2013 at 11:41

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I've met people who brag about how awesome their kids are, but nobody who uses them as a status symbol. Anyone who does must be an idiot, because spending that kid money on something like a car or house will get you much more attention.

Dest > Drew 10/09/2013 at 12:07

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Long story short: cool guy delivers his own baby in car, finishing in hospital; hospital still asshole and attempts to charge him.

Tarukai > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 10/09/2013 at 12:10

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And it's a US-based blog, about a story in Florida...

I'm not seeing any issues?

rickard22 > duurtlang 10/09/2013 at 13:44

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My last employer's health insurance company would send the summary of the actual costs, health insurance negotiated rate, their payment and my deductible. My last kid was born in 2000 and the total bill before the negotiated rate was about $8k for delivery, anesthesia, and hospital stay.

shortyoh > Drew 10/09/2013 at 14:46

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As I said in another thread... I bet the hospital still tried to charge the family the full charge for delivery. Thanks for proving me right! :S

Drew > shortyoh 10/09/2013 at 15:18

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I expected a bill, but not for everything. Another Doctor was listed as "attending physician" I cannot say I ever saw this "other doctor" in the 14 hours stay at the hospital. Was told she reviewed the notes on the delivery. I guess in Hospital speak that is the same as doing the delivery.

tapzz > totalize 10/09/2013 at 16:07

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Hey! Those are my tax £s that delivered your babies!

And you're welcome to every last penny. I just hope that my pennies will go as straight as possible to those midwives rather than the companies who are now starting to grab as much as they can.

4wsprelude > DCCARGEEK 10/09/2013 at 20:55

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Just so happens that my son's date of birth had to come 4 in the morning after a good night of rain in MN. Let's just say it was the 21st of November and when the sun went down the rain turned into Ice. Ice everywhere!!!!!!!!! Wife woke me up to get to the hospital and the 10 min commute took and hour. I almost had to stop my Mazda5 and deliver but she didn't want to do the delivery in the car.

Got to the hospital and 5 min later after the onsite doctor put his gloves on my boy was out. I had more pain driving in that weather then my wife going through labor. Well not really but I can't tell because I'm a guy.

God bless women!!!!!

totalize > tapzz 10/10/2013 at 02:49

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Oh, don't worry. We're paying our UK taxes. Come to think of it, we're also paying US taxes. Everybody wins!!!!

Drew > JTSnooks 10/10/2013 at 08:57

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not sure it cost money, but they did send me a "Durango parking only" sign.

back in 1999 I thought the first gen Durangos were pretty cool, not so much now

getchapopcorn > DCCARGEEK 10/10/2013 at 22:52

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At the end of the day, money is only money; a healthy baby in your arms will be worth every cent you're charged there and every penny you pay there after. The average cost of raising a child in the US now is around 300K and change (this does not include college).

DCCARGEEK > getchapopcorn 10/11/2013 at 09:42

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I've got one and another with an ETA of Dec 3. I'm learning all too well the cost of raising children.

Funny. I sent this to my wife and her response was: if a trooper came to help us he'd have to write you a no-front-tag ticket first.

Truth.