Too soon to get to hospital, Agawam baby born in bathroom

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Johanna Searles of Agawam had planned to give birth to her second child at Mercy Medical Center on Thursday morning, but her baby had other plans.

Before she could leave for the hospital, Searles gave birth to her daughter, 7 pound 3 ounce Emily Grace, in the bathroom of her home.

“Things went a little quicker than I had thought,” Searles said. “Around 1:30 I went into labor, and then my water broke, and I was still at home, I had to deliver on the bathroom floor.”

Her husband, Travis Searles, says that he was expecting that they would have more time to get to the hospital than they actually did.

“She's much more courageous than I was. When she started getting real labor pains, we thought we had five or six hours,” he said.

The new mom and dad thanked the Agawam police officers and firefighters who helped her deliver Emily Grace at their home.

Mother and baby are now comfortably at Mercy Medical Center.