First Published:
12:50 PM PST, December 5, 2022
The Long Island, New York, cop known as “The Baby Whisperer,” who assisted in his fifth newborn delivery in five years recently still doesn’t consider himself an expert in bringing children into the world.
Sgt. Jon-Erik Negron, 37, of the Suffolk County Police Department told Inside Edition Digital via email that “even after being a part of five baby deliveries I don’t consider myself an expert by any means, and I still breathe a sigh of relief every time the paramedics and ambulance show up.”
Last week, Sgt. Negron was part of a team of cops who helped usher Owen Anthony Maldonado into the world in his family’s living room.
When he got the call that a woman was in labor, he says, “my initial reaction was that the call was probably a false alarm, or that the mother was just experiencing contractions and would make it to the hospital before giving birth if the baby was coming.”
However, life and fate would have other plans. When another officer arrived at the house first and radioed that “the baby was crowning, I knew this was the real deal.”
Maldonado was born just about 15 minutes after his mom called 911, police said. An ambulance arrived soon after the birth, and the baby and mother were taken to a hospital in good health, according to reports.
“I don’t think any of the officers knew about my track record, or that their Sergeant was the ‘Baby Whisperer,’ but as their supervisor, I made sure the situation was handled as best as possible given the scenario and equipment we had to work with,” he said.
Sgt. Negron, who joined the department in 2013 and has no children of his own, first helped deliver a baby in 2017. The sergeant was asked to be the godfather of the third child he helped bring into the world, ABC7 reported.
“Of all the past families that I’ve had these experiences with I’ve kept in contact the most with Bryce Pappalardo and his family, not only was he the first child that I helped deliver but his parents asked me to be his godfather and we’ve had a special bond since then,” he said.
As for being the “Baby Whisperer,” he says his tips for anyone in the situation when needing to help deliver a baby is to remain as calm as possible and “focusing on your breathing are very important, the mother of the baby did a great job doing that and made a stressful situation a little easier on every occasion I was a part of.
“Being apart of five child births has been the most rewarding part of my career to date, and I can’t imagine anything topping that,” he added. “I’ve been asked a lot if I expect this to happen again, at this point I truly believe I’m put in these situations for a reason that I can’t explain but if and when it does I’ll be ready to embrace the challenge and do my part to welcome a new life into the world.”
