Watch CBS News

Woman Gives Birth To Twins At CTA Stop

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's every mother's dream -- a quick birth. But for one Chicago woman, it was too fast.

She gave birth to not one, but two, babies on the floor of a Red Line station around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The mother – who asked CBS 2 not to disclose her name – talked with reporter Sandra Torres by phone.

Meet Ja'maiyla and Ju'niyla, the twins who will forever be known for coming into this world at the Roosevelt CTA station.

"I never thought I would have delivered them at a train station," the mom says from the hospital. "All I kept saying on that train was, 'Jesus, Jesus, please help me, please help me."

Twins Born CTA Stop
Fraternal twin girls Ja'miyla, left; and Ju'niyla were born at a CTA Red Line station Wednesday morning. (image provided to CBS)

 

The 35-year-old says she relies on public transportation. So, when her water broke at 5:30 a.m., she took the bus and the train to try to get to Mercy Hospital.

"I was in labor on the bus, in labor on the train, and then the contractions got really intense, and everybody was looking at me crazy," she says.

Once she arrived at the Roosevelt stop, the babies decided it was time. She got to a customer service booth, she says, and "felt the urge to push."

"When the first baby came out they kind of laid me on the ground," she says.

That's when Chicago Fire Department paramedics arrived.

"Within about maybe six minutes or so, the second child came out," Rosa Perez says.

Thanks to their help, mom and babies are OK.

cta twins
Paramedics Rosa Perez and Maire Shields (WBBM/Steve Miller)

 

The woman thanks the paramedics and calls them "angels." She was due around Thanksgiving but was scheduled to be induced in two weeks.

The babies are currently in a special unit but are doing fine. The mother also has a 19-year-old child.

The twins' godmother has created a GoFundMe campaign for mom and babies.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.