Sahara den Ouden’s birth didn’t involve a doctor.
Instead, it took her mother, a police officer, her grandmother and a random stranger to bring her into the world.
It was early in the morning on Monday, Jan. 17 and inside Chilliwack General Hospital it was a typical night shift for rookie police officer Const. Sise Odaa.
But unbeknownst to her, Odaa’s shift was about to get dramatic.
Chayne den Ouden had just pulled up to CGH with her mom Colleen den Ouden. An hour earlier, at about 4:30 a.m., Chayne was still at home when her water broke.
She woke up her parents – her father Ryk stayed to look after Chayne’s three-year-old son River while Colleen drove her to the hospital.
On the way, they got to one red light that wouldn’t change.
“Mom, run the light, there’s no one here,” Chayne recalled saying.
So she did.
When they arrived in the parking lot Chayne got out of the car and starting making her way to the emergency entrance, but the short walk across the parking lot to the hospital doors proved to be too much.
“No, I can’t walk. You’ve got to go get a wheelchair,” she said to her mom.
Chayne was left alone outside, hunched over.
“As she left, I was like ‘Oh no, (the baby) is coming.’”
A man walked by and asked her if she was OK.
“No! I’m having a baby,” she said to him.
The man ran inside to get help while Colleen came out with a wheelchair.
Inside, Odaa was attending to an unrelated report when she heard yelling and screaming with calls for help coming from the parking lot. She rushed out to see what was happening.
Odaa saw Chayne giving birth and hurried to help Colleen with the special delivery.
“(The man) runs into the hospital and my mom gets back just in the nick of time to catch her.”
Little Sahara Acacia den Ouden arrived at 5:19 a.m. weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces.
Chayne den Ouden holds newborn daughter Sahara at their Chilliwack home on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
“It was an amazing experience to be part of,” said Odaa, who’s been with Chilliwack RCMP for just six months. “I joined the RCMP to help people and am so happy that I was able to help in this very special way.”
Everything happened so quickly, Chayne said she can’t recall all the details, but she remembers looking up and also seeing a nurse who wrapped Sahara in a blanket, and a security guard alongside her mom and Odaa.
She said she wanted to pass along a message to the man who asked if she was OK and then went to get help the morning Sahara was born.
“I never had a chance to thank him. I appreciate you going to get help,” Chayne said.
Sahara is healthy and both she and Chayne are doing well.
This isn’t the first time that a newborn baby of Chayne’s has made headlines.
Chayne den Ouden holds newborn daughter Sahara at their Chilliwack home on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Three years ago, she was featured in The Chilliwack Progress after she gave birth to Chilliwack’s New Year’s baby. Her son River came into the world on Jan. 1, 2019 at 12:24 a.m.
READ MORE: Chilliwack New Year’s baby born after IVF journey (Jan. 2, 2019)
She said it’s “surprising” that both her children have garnered media attention.
“It’s nice for both of them. They’ll both have a special birth story.”
Chayne is an outdoorsy person who loves to travel. River, who’s now three, has already been to nine countries. Over the past two years, they’ve stuck close to home and like to go hiking, camping and swimming.
What does River like to do most with his mom?
“Go down to the beach,” he said.
And when Sahara is older, River wants to teach his little sister how to ride a bike.
Chayne den Ouden holds newborn daughter Sahara while snuggling three-year-old son River at their Chilliwack home on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
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Email: jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
Twitter: @PhotoJennalism
