Police Officer Delivers 5th Baby in 5 Years After Responding to 911 Call in N.Y.: 'Baby Whisperer'

Valerie Nome
·2 min read
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Police Officer Delivers Five Babies In Nine Years Sergeant Jon-Erik Negron, also known around his police station as the “Baby Whisperer,” has delivered five babies in nine years – once even saving the life of a baby who wasn’t breathing
Police Officer Delivers Five Babies In Nine Years Sergeant Jon-Erik Negron, also known around his police station as the “Baby Whisperer,” has delivered five babies in nine years – once even saving the life of a baby who wasn’t breathing

NBC News

Sgt. Jon-Erik Negron has earned the nickname "the Baby Whisperer" among his fellow officers thanks to his role in helping deliver five babies in the last five years.

When Rebecca Reyes went into labor three weeks early at her home in Shirley, N.Y., on Saturday morning, Negron, 37, was one of the Suffolk County Police Department officers who responded to her 911 call, ABC7 Eyewitness News reports.

Along with officers Jadin Rodriguez and Zachary Vormittag, Negron arrived at the scene where their colleague, Conor Diemer, was already assisting Reyes in her living room.

"As soon as he said she's starting to push, I said, 'This sounds like something I've heard before,'" Negron told reporters.

"I took the approach just like a coach in this situation," Negron, who joined the department in 2013 and has no children of his own, continued. "The first four [deliveries], I was there by myself doing it, like these guys were, so I said, 'Let me supervise and do what I can.' "

A Shirley woman has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week with the birth of her son, Owen, who arrived in dramatic fashion with the help of SCPD officers on Saturday
A Shirley woman has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week with the birth of her son, Owen, who arrived in dramatic fashion with the help of SCPD officers on Saturday

Suffolk County Police Department

The baby's father, Juan Maldonado, came home in time to hold Reyes' head while the officers assisted in the child's birth, ABC7 reports.

After twelve minutes of labor, baby Owen Anthony Maldonado arrived, weighing in at 6 lbs. 13 oz.

"Everyone took over," Officer Rodriguez said. "We could not have done it without each other."

Though both were reportedly healthy after the at-home birth, the mother and newborn were then taken to Stony Brook University Hospital by ambulance, according to ABC7.

"I just want to thank them so much for showing up as soon as they did and being able to help me, because without them, I would've given birth to my baby alone," Reyes said, according to Newsday.

In 2017, Negron's first delivery was more touch and go when he responded to a call of a woman in active labor in her kitchen.

When the baby arrived, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, according to Newsday.

After Negron removed it with his hands, the newborn still wasn't breathing so the officer used a turkey baster to get the fluid out of the baby's throat, NBC News reported.

"People told me I went white after the first time I delivered a baby," Negron told reporters this week. "We just sat around the house for a minute, and just kind of regrouped our thoughts."

Now, he's the child's godfather, a sergeant — and ready to help deliver more babies.

"I thought my childbirth days were over when I became a sergeant this year," Negron said, "but I guess the record lives on, so we'll see how many we can take it to."