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An Air National Guard medical officer supporting operations in the nation’s capital helped deliver a baby in the front seat of a car just outside a hospital emergency room days before Christmas.
Capt. April McClung, a nurse with the West Virginia Air Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing, helped deliver the baby Dec. 23, 2025, outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.
McClung is currently assigned to the Joint Task Force–District of Columbia, supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission.
She was inside the hospital when a man rushed to the registration, explaining his wife was in labor in their car. Minutes later, he returned with greater urgency, saying the baby was coming immediately. McClung stepped forward.
“I’ve been a nurse for 28 years, specifically as an obstetrics nurse, and I’ve worked in emergency care,” McClung said. “I knew that if the mother had just a little help, she would deliver her baby safely.”
After informing hospital staff of her background, McClung went outside. At the curb, she found the mother kneeling in the front passenger seat, the baby already crowning, as the family’s toddler sat crying in a car seat.
While the father searched for a blanket, McClung coached the mother to control her breathing and allow the delivery to progress naturally to reduce the risk of injury.
An emergency room physician and additional staff arrived shortly afterward. McClung relayed the need for essential medical equipment, including a cord clamp, bulb syringe, warm blankets and a stretcher. She continued to support the mother as the doctor and the baby’s father completed the delivery.
When the umbilical cord was found wrapped around the baby’s neck, McClung advised the physician on how to safely reduce it. Moments later, the baby cried, signaling a successful delivery. The newborn was placed in warm blankets and transported for further care.
McClung said her professional experience and military training prepared her to act decisively.
“I knew I could do the delivery myself if I needed to,” she said. “Emergency delivery is part of my required military training.”
Her response, she said, reflects the same principles that guide the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission: readiness, disciplined initiative and a commitment to serve the public.
“We’re here to serve our country and our communities,” she said. “Sometimes that means supporting large operations, and sometimes it means helping one family in a moment they’ll never forget. We genuinely care about the people who live here.”
—By Technical Sgt. Melissa Sterling, District of Columbia National Guard
