OXNARD : Dispatcher Helps Mother Revive Baby

An Oxnard Fire Department dispatcher saved a 1-month-old boy’s life by telling his mother how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation, authorities said Wednesday.

The mother, whose identity was not released, called 911 at 2:42 p.m. Tuesday.

The mother told dispatcher Rachel Rivas that her baby was not breathing and was turning blue.

Rivas told the mother to lay the baby on his back, cover his nose and mouth with her mouth and breathe out tiny puffs of air until she could see the baby’s chest moving.

After a little time on the telephone, Rivas could hear the baby crying.

“Once the baby starts crying, you know it’s reviving,” she said.

Rivas said she was lucky to have that mother to coach because the mother seemed calm and took directions well.

The baby was taken by ambulance to St. John’s Regional Medical Center and was reported in stable condition in the critical care unit, Police Lt. Gordon Hubbard said.