As an EMT of more than 5 years, Ashley Darnsteadt ’18 has gained extensive experience both in the classroom and on location.

In the early hours of a recent morning, she responded to a report of a woman in labor in Sparta, New Jersey. Despite being a veteran EMT, her partner had never experienced a child birth. Darnsteadt, who had recently finished her maternity rotations through Quinnipiac, told him she felt confident to take the lead.

“He was definitely happy to stay out of the actual child-birth experience,” Darnsteadt said. “He just looked at me and said, ‘This is all you.’”

While on route, Darnsteadt and her partner received an update on the situation: the mother was lying on the bathroom floor giving birth.

Darnsteadt arrived a few minutes later and immediately jumped into action — delivering the baby and then performing an assessment of the newborn and her mother. She remained focused, and never lost composure as she clamped and cut the cord, and delivered the placenta. When the new mother and baby girl were both ready, they transported them to an area hospital.

Darnsteadt earned numerous compliments from police officers and others on the scene for her knowledge and calm demeanor.

“I always knew she’d make an excellent nurse,” said nursing professor Carol Connery. “This trial by fire experience only confirms it.”

Darnsteadt praised Connery for pairing her with such exceptional nurses during her maternity rotations, where she gained critical knowledge of newborn and postpartum assessments, as well as the labor and delivery process. She also credits Connery for helping her build her self-confidence during women’s health care simulations.

“I believe that this labor and delivery call wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as it did had I not had Carol as my clinical instructor,” she said.