TACOMA, Wash. — A Starbucks worker ran to help as a woman gave birth outside the store Friday morning, according to KIRO 7.
At 1 a.m., Rashelle Rehms was working her overnight shift at a 24-hour drive-thru Starbucks when a man knocked on the window.
“He said she’s laying on the ground about to have a baby,” Rehms told KIRO 7.
Rehms quickly grabbed towels and ran out to a nearby grassy slope where she found the pregnant woman lying on the ground.
“She said she needed her pants off so I took those off for her and I noticed the baby was crowning,” Rehms said. “So I asked her to lift her hips so I could put the towels underneath her hips and as soon as she lifted her hips the baby came right out.”
Shortly after, paramedics arrived.
Rehms, a mother of two, went into what she described as “mom mode.”
“When you’re a mom you kind of go back to those moments when your babies are born,” Rehms said. “There was no really fear. It was just mainly this needs to be done and she needs help.”
Even though Rehms broke store policy by abandoning her post, a Starbucks spokesperson told KIRO 7 that they are proud of their employee.
“We’re proud of Rashelle for her quick thinking and actions until additional help could arrive, and appreciate their quick response as well,” the spokesperson said in a statement to KIRO 7.
Rehms visited the mother later that day and said she and the child appear to be doing well.