This hero teenager delivered her aunt’s baby at home, just days after learning about labor in school

In high school, we often wondered if/when we’d actually apply the things we were learning to real-life situations (looking at you, calculus). But one Utah teen put her high school education to use almost immediately when she delivered her aunt’s baby — just days after learning about the labor process in her child development class.

As Utah’s Deseret News first reported on April 30th, 16-year-old Morlie Hayes was home alone on a Saturday afternoon last month when there was a knock at the door. When Morlie answered, her 7-year-old cousin was at the doorstep in tears. She informed Morlie that her mother was in the car, about to have her baby.

Laura Creager’s baby girl wasn’t due until May 19th, according to Deseret News. But Creager went into labor while driving one of her children to a playdate and she quickly made the decision to stop at the Hayes’s house for help.

Morlie called 9-1-1 once her aunt entered the house. She followed the dispatcher’s directions to get towels, a shoelace, and a safety pin. Minutes later, Creager’s water broke.

The ambulance was on its way when Morlie instructed her aunt to lie down on the towels even though Creager thought it would be some time before the baby arrived. But baby Kayla didn’t wait around. Creager felt another strong contraction, pushed, and suddenly, her daughter was out.

"It was a crazy experience," Morlie told HelloGiggles. "It all happened so fast — less than 10 [minutes], so there wasn't any time to actually think things through. My aunt was such a rockstar and such an amazing woman."

Morlie had just learned about the birthing process in her high school child development class a week before Kayla’s birth. When Kayla arrived, Morlie made sure the umbilical cord wasn’t wrapped around her neck and determined that the baby had good coloring.

"The class helped me actually check for things when the baby came out, that I would have never thought about," Morlie said. "It was cool and I'm so grateful my aunt and my cousin are so healthy and doing well."

Thanks to Morlie, both mother and baby experienced a smooth delivery. When paramedics arrived, EMTs clipped the umbilical cord and Morlie signed Kayla’s birth certificate.

We won’t second-guess our high school lesson plans ever again. Because those lessons might just make you a hero.