'Brave' NFL Player Dawuane Smoot Recounts Delivering His Baby at Home: 'Scariest Moment of My Life'
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NFL player Dawuane Smoot stepped in to help deliver his new baby girl at home during his "warrior" wife's hasty labor experience.
The 26-year-old Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman welcomed his second child, daughter Ahlani Moon Smoot, with wife Aumari early Tuesday morning under unexpected circumstances.
Sharing a photo of their baby on Instagram, the football player wrote, "For the past 9 months my wife and I both dreamt of having our second child and first daughter but nothing could have prepared us for this."
Smoot recalled how his pregnant wife collapsed on the floor while on the way out their door to the hospital, calling it "the scariest moment of my life."
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"But seeing your strength to stay calm and not panick [sic] allowed me to realize everything was going to be okay. God had our back," he continued.
"I can't thank you enough for being such a strong woman and bringing our daughter Ahlani Moon Smoot into this world at home. You are a true warrior," he wrote. "I trust God and the path he has my family on. I thank him for looking after my wife, Ahlani, Ahmir, and myself all this time. I will always owe you."
Aumari shared on her own Instagram page that she is "grateful" that her "brave" husband was able to carry out the impromptu delivery. She also thanked the 911 operator who "talked him through the birthing process," as well as "the medical staff at the hospital once we arrived, and of course God."
"Life is a rollercoaster of emotions and events that I'm glad to be experiencing with the loves of my life in my husband, son Ahmir, and now our daughter. Thank you everyone for the prayers and reaching out. It truly means a lot," she concluded. "Have a blessed day."