Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 04/99) - Little did Daniel Kriterdluk of Whale Cove realize when he finished his lunch and headed back to work on July 23, he would be returning home a short while later to help his wife deliver a baby daughter.

Kriterdluk had just started back to work at the hamlet garage when he took a phone call from his wife, telling him she was in labour.

"I was a little bit scared as all this was happening," says Kriterdluk, breaking into a hearty laugh.

"When I got that call I took off right away. I didn't even bother to punch out. I just jumped on my Honda and started for home."

Kriterdluk arrived home to find his wife and sister-in-law getting ready to go to the health centre, but his new daughter wasn't about to wait.

"As soon as I walked in my wife looked at me and said, ŒDaniel, the baby is going to come out now.' I ran over and checked under her clothes and, the next thing I knew, the baby was there.

"I didn't know what to do. I was really nervous. She was very small, five pounds, six ounces, so I just held her gently. I couldn't really do anything else. I saw the chord was still on and I didn't know how to cut it right, so I just held her and waited for the nurse to come in. I was very worried for awhile."

Kriterdluk says he kept thinking he couldn't panic because that would only make things worse. He had watched his wife deliver before with nurses, but says things are totally different when you have to do it yourself.

"I was very relieved to see the nurse walk in and I just gave the baby to her right away. I know my daughter was born on the afternoon of July 23, but I couldn't tell you the time. With everything happening, I never though to look at the clock."

Pearl Apa Kriterdluk came into the world prematurely. Her mother, Jacqueline, wasn't due with her until mid-August. Kriterdluk says local nurses were very concerned because Apa was so tiny and wanted mother and daughter to go to Churchill.

"They actually tried sending them down there, but they were back in Whale Cove a couple of hours after they left because they were weathered out and couldn't land there. So, now, the nurses see my wife and baby every day and make sure she is alright."

Kriterdluk says, believe it or not, he'd like to go through the experience again and figures next time around he'd be more prepared to deal with the situation.

"Maybe next time, as long as the baby's healthy, I would probably do better. This was the third time I watched as my wife had a baby. I watched when she had my older daughter in Rankin Inlet and I watched six years ago when she had a boy here in Whale. In every case, though, it's very hard watching."

Both the mother and little Apa are doing well.