Mom gives birth on SEPTA train

A mother apparently gave birth on a busy SEPTA Broad Street Line train yesterday afternoon, and walked off with the baby still attached to the umbilical cord.

The mother disembarked the northbound train, climbed a set of stairs at the Olney Transportation Center, and then approached a SEPTA police officer, according to Heather Redfern, a SEPTA spokeswoman.

Officer Loyd Rodgers discovered that not only was the woman holding a baby, but that the umbilical cord was attached.

Rodgers and others scrambled to get the woman and baby a blanket and provide comfort.

Startled passengers congratulated the mother, who was taken to Einstein Medical Center. The mother and baby were reported to be in good condition.

But details, such as where the birth occurred, were sketchy. Redfern said Olney is one of SEPTA's busier stops on the Broad Street Line.

"I don't know how many people were on that train," Redfern said. "But I believe she was on her way to a doctor's office."