Eliana Garcia, 19, was 38 weeks pregnant when twin earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, on June 24, 2026. As she fled with her family to a baseball field, her water broke. Doctors had previously scheduled a cesarean section due to her narrow pelvis, but labor began unexpectedly.
Emergency Birth in the Dark
"I felt like I needed to pee. But I pushed and pushed, and when nothing came out, I understood that the baby was coming," Garcia told AFP from a shelter. Her sister-in-law, Julia Di Giuseppe, ran barefoot through the rubble to find help. No one responded to her calls amidst the chaos of collapsed buildings and aftershocks.
Returning to the baseball field, Di Giuseppe found Garcia in labor. A paramedic searching for her own family agreed to assist. Without water or surgical gloves, the paramedic used hand sanitizer and cell phone lights to deliver the baby on June 25. The crowd, forgetting their own tragedies, erupted in applause when the newborn cried.
Improvised Umbilical Cord Cutting
To cut the umbilical cord, bystanders provided hair bands and alcohol. "People started taking out their hair bands and we tied it at both ends, with a lot of alcohol," Di Giuseppe recalled. The cord was later cut with nail scissors. Garcia was transported first in arms, then a motorized garbage cart, and finally an ambulance to a public hospital overwhelmed by earthquake victims.
The family was relocated to a school shelter in La Guaira, the region hardest hit by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes. The disasters have left nearly 3,700 dead and thousands missing, according to official reports.
Family Losses
Di Giuseppe broke down watching Garcia breastfeed her son. "We saved him, but we lost our two nieces," she said. The girls, aged 14 and 11, were found in the rubble of their apartment building. Their father identified them by a silver bracelet on the older girl's wrist. Garcia's sister (the girls' mother) and a nephew remain missing.
Garcia had planned to name the baby Daniel Eduardo if a boy, but changed it to Gael Jesus after her sister's suggestion. "My sister always told me to name him Gael," Garcia sobbed. "So, for her sake, I decided to name him Gael Jesus. It's my way of having her here with me."
