Woman gives birth in toilet paper aisle

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Amid the empty shelves and store closures, a Springfield Walmart had its own commotion going Wednesday afternoon.

A baby was born in the toilet paper aisle of the Walmart at Sunshine and West Bypass.

One Walmart customer didn’t have a chance to get any of those groceries she came for, but she left with something much more special.

“We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this actually going to happen?'” said store manager Jessica Hinkle.

Hinkle said the woman warned store associates that her last child came in just 30 minutes. When the woman’s water broke in the toilet paper aisle, she was prepared to go into labor right then and there.

“We were like, ‘What do we do now?'” she said. “Another lady comes around the corner and she says, ‘I’m a labor nurse, can I help?’ and we said, ‘Yes, yes, please.’ She had gloves in her pocket, (and) she was ready.”

Hinkle said she grabbed a sheet and blocked the aisle to give the woman as much privacy as possible.

“Crowd control — (I’m) not like the best with blood, so that was my job, holding the sheet and crowd control making sure that nobody invaded what privacy the poor lady still had,” Hinkle said.

Springfield firefighters rushed into the store and helped deliver the baby girl.

“They’re the typical fire department that shops in our store, so they were pretty proud of themselves,” Hinkle said.

She said the entire process took about 45 minutes and customers were cheering for the woman the whole time.

“They took her out on the gurney, there were customers of course gathered, (and) she kind of raised her hand. Everyone clapped for her,” Hinkle said.

The Walmart birth was the touch of happiness Hinkle said everyone needed.

“You know a feel-good moment, everybody’s going through so much and with a baby it’s like everything comes full circle,” she said.

Hinkle said she did touch base with the woman Thursday. She said both mom and baby are doing well.

This article first appeared on fellow CNN affiliate KYTV. It is used here with permission.