Mesa parents meet 911 dispatcher who coached them through childbirth on freeway

MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- A Mesa baby gave his parents a night they won’t forget and will be bringing up at future family dinners and birthday parties. “In that moment, you just don’t have an option right, so you just have to perform,” said Daniel Emery.

Daniel and Nicole Emery were on their way to a birthing center on May 9 when their baby, Cooper Emery, decided he didn’t want to wait any longer. “By the second contraction Nicole was like you got to pull over,” said Daniel.

They quickly called 911 to figure out what to do and pulled over on the Loop 202. The voice on the other line calmly coaching the parents through Cooper’s birth was dispatcher Jaden Valentine. “When you stay calm, they like to stay calm as well, which we appreciate. We can hear you clearly,” said Valentine. “That baby cry it’s just a whole other feeling. It’s just you know there’s another life brought into this world.” It didn’t take long for first responders to arrive and take over for the parents.

The Emerys got to meet Valentine and express their gratitude for keeping them calm during a frantic evening. “We’re just thankful we got somebody like Jaden on the phone, and everybody that showed up was amazing,” said Emery.

On Friday, the fire chief presented Valentine with a certificate of appreciation. Valentine told Arizona’s Family this was his first time coaching someone the entire way through a birth. He is expecting his own baby next month!

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.