They say that a baby is born when they are ready. Sometimes, however, the timing of a child’s arrival can’t be a coincidence. And recently, a woman helped deliver her grandbaby on the same day her own mother died.
Alysa West of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, welcomed a baby boy in February 2025. Unexpectedly, she went into labor early and delivered her son in a car. Alysa’s mother, Elissa Danielle West, helped deliver her grandchild after receiving devastating personal news earlier that morning.
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In February 2025, Alysa went into labor two weeks early.
On February 25, Alysa was at her mother’s house for lunch when labor contractions began. Things progressed quickly from there.
“We hopped in the car, drove halfway down the street, and she started screaming, ‘Mom, my water just broke,'” Elissa Danielle told WPVI-TV.
Alyssa’s mother helped deliver the baby in the vehicle.
When Elissa realized they weren’t going to make it to the hospital, she pulled over and assisted her daughter with help from 911.
“I jumped out of the car. 911 says, ‘Do you see anything? I said yeah I can see the head,'” she recalled. “Within seconds, the top of the baby’s head popped out, and a couple seconds later, I just said, ‘Give me a little push,’ and out he came, and I caught him.”
Following the fast birth, the grandmother insisted she was ‘no hero.’
“I’m like the MVP,” Elissa insisted while speaking to WPVI-TV. “I’m no hero.”
Her daughter, Alysa added, “You don’t think you can handle something like that, but when you’re in the situation and you have to, you’d be surprised what you can do.”
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The New Jersey woman helped deliver her grandbaby after learning of mother’s death.
On the morning her grandbaby was born, Elissa learned that her mother, Elissa Marie Minessale, died after a battle with leukemia.
“It was very sad about my mother, but I think that this baby was sent as a distraction because he certainly distracted all of us from our day,” Elissa explained. “He’s beautiful.”
Fittingly, the baby’s name is Noah.
Alysa named her son Noah — which means “rest” and is derived from a Hebrew word that means “comfort,” according to BabyCenter.
“When he came out, he was just so calm, and he really was that comfort and calming that we needed as a family, and we can heal,” Alysa told WPVI-TV.
“My mother loved holding babies, and unfortunately she won’t get to hold this one, but she’s there,” Elissa reflected.
Meanwhile, Alysa added, “She would be elated, and I know she’s looking down right now just so excited for me.”
