Letter Carrier Delivers Baby To Full-Term While Working

Mitchell, SD

Neither snow, nor rain, nor full term pregnancy kept one Mitchell letter carrier off her appointed route.

The mother made hundreds of stops the day before she was induced for her own special delivery all while walking up to twelve miles each day she was pregnant.

Dressed in uniform, Shawn Patton took this selfie before dropping off mail to 500 homes. The next day she went into labor.

"They just said don't lift anything that you're not used to lifting," Patton said. "Since my body was used to walking all those miles, it was just good for (me)."

While many would think it's uncomfortable or even impossible, Patton admits the hardest part was just keeping her balance while also carrying her mail bag. Now, the mother of three carries 11-day-old Gwen in her arms.

"A lot of women work when they're pregnant," Patton said. "I just don't think they are walking as much as me, maybe."

Patton says she worried about her water breaking while on her long route, but she'd figured she'd have enough time to drive herself to the hospital.

"The doctor called me that Monday and was like, 'We have an opening that Friday. Would you like to be induced?' Yes, by Friday I'm exhausted. Let's get this done."

Patton has already stopped by work and is anxiously counting down the weeks before she can go back on her route.
 

This is the first pregnancy Patton's husband has been able to witness. 

Tyson Patton was deployed to Iraq and then was in nurses training during the birth of his first two children.

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This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
A grammatical error was corrected in this story.