By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Just after 6 a.m. on Jan 11, St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s deputy Amanda Roh started her shift with a medical call from a home on River Pointe Drive in LaPlace regarding a woman in labor needing assistance.

“It was almost right after roll call that morning,” said Roh, 32, a veteran of law enforcement since 2000 who joined the St. John Sheriff’s Office last year. “On the way out to the call, we learned the woman had given birth inside the home and that her baby was in distress.”

Roh, a uniform patrol deputy, said she arrived at the home first and found the mother holding her newborn boy in a towel. He was not breathing.

“The poor baby was blue, and he had no heartbeat,” Roh said. “There was something blocking the airflow. I wasn’t equipped with anything to suction him with, so I gave him a couple of back slaps to try to loosen the blockage. I wanted to just get him to breathe before paramedics arrived.”

Much to Roh’s and the new mother’s relief, her efforts were successful, and the baby registered a slight pulse just as an ambulance arrived at the home.

Roh said those couple of minutes felt like a lifetime.

“It wasn’t long after I arrived that paramedics showed, but it felt like time completely stopped,” said Roh, who is trained as a first responder and spent time working with the St. John Fire Department. “I’ve done CPR plenty of times but never on a newborn baby.”

Roh said the baby boy and the mother were transported to River Parishes Hospital. She said the baby was given oxygen, and he and the mother recovered fine.

“I went and checked on them later that day,” said Roh. “She was very thankful. I was just glad it worked out with a happy ending.”

Roh later received a certificate of commendation from Sheriff Wayne L. Jones and a luncheon in her honor. Jones said Roh’s actions were “exemplary” and that he was proud to see her take on the responsibility to do what she could to save the child.

“She is a quality officer with great experience,” Jones said. “For her to get in there and do what she could, it really says a lot for how she performs her duties on a daily basis. She is an example of what I would like to see all St. John sheriff’s deputies be. She was confident in her actions, and it led to a positive result.”