By:Jeff Lipton
When Rothenberg got a call about a woman in Inwood who was nine months pregnant and going into labor, it was a change of pace from the typical 911 call he responds to.
"Responding to that call was one of the nicest moments in my career," said Rothenberg, a seven-year veteran of the Nassau County Police Department who lives in Long Beach. "We usually don't see people at their best. We usually see them as victims or criminals or complaining to us."
Rothenberg said he got the call at about 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 28 and rushed over to the Lawrence Avenue residence to assist the 34-year-old woman. He had recently finished his training as an advanced medical technician, and on his way there he reviewed in his mind what to do.
"I was in a blind panic," Rothenberg said jokingly. "What you're thinking about is everything that could go wrong. But I felt well-prepared for this."
When he arrived, another police officer, Brian Byrnes, of the Fourth Precinct, was already there, trying to help the woman and calming her down. They were soon joined by another advanced medical technician, Kevin McInerney.
"When I got there, the woman was standing in the bathroom," Rothenberg said. He said he wanted to examine her, and they were about to get out a gurney and take her to the hospital, when they realized she was fully dilated. "That's when Kevin said, 'Forget it. We're not going anywhere,'" Rothenberg said.
They determined that the woman was too far along to risk taking her to a hospital, so they rolled up their sleeves and went to work.
"Kevin delivered the baby and handed him to me," said Rothenberg, who said that this was the first baby he had delivered as a cop. "Kevin suctioned the baby's nose and mouth, and I repeated the suction process, but the baby wasn't making any noise."
Rothenberg then massaged the baby's chest, and the infant started to make noise.
The officers rushed the mother and son to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, South Shore, in Far Rockaway. In the ambulance, Rothenberg partially covered the newborn's mouth and nose with an oxygen mask. At that point, Byrnes reported the birth over the police radio: "We're taking the proud mother and Nassau County's newest citizen to St. John's."
"When we dropped them off at the hospital, the baby was in absolutely perfect health," Rothenberg said. "Everything went completely smooth," he said.
The baby boy and his mother were listed in stable condition at the hospital last Thursday, police said. The child is the woman's sixth, according to Rothenberg.
Lieutenant Larry Feffer of the Fourth Precinct agreed that delivering a baby is one of the more pleasant parts of a police officer's job.
"So many times, parts of the job include less-than-desirable things," said Feffer. "When you do something that's helpful, it's quite satisfying. It's a good feeling when everything goes well."
Feffer added that Rothenberg, Byrnes and McInerney all did an excellent job in delivering the baby.
"They should be commended for their actions," he said.
"This is one of the nicest things a police officer will encounter on the job," Rothenberg said. "When I sometimes wonder if I made the right [career] choice, something like this happens and I say, 'Yeah, I made the right choice.'"
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