Mom Had No Idea She Was Pregnant Until She Gave Birth. Then a Cop Saved Her Daughter’s Life

Mar. 15, 2025

Baby rescued by Officer Kelly Chappell

Indianapolis Metro Police Dept lIMPD News/Facebook

In bodycamfootage, Kelly Chappell of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department can be seen quickly running into a home and grabbing the newborn from a woman, who said she was unaware that she was expecting. Chappell then gives the tiny girl quick chest compressions.

A 19-year-veteran of the department, Chappell, 47, says her training and instincts kicked in the moment she arrived on the scene.

“You want to make everything possible for that parent,” says Chappell, who credits the mother for taking all the right steps after unexpectedly giving birth at home.

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“I told her, ‘You did exactly what you need to do to keep your daughter alive,’ " says Chappell, who is herself a mother of two teens and a stepmother to an adult daughter — and the officer says she still keeps an old poster inside her cabinet at home outlining how to do CPR on kids if they choke.

The officer says it’s not unusual for people to not know they are pregnant right away. She herself didn’t know she was pregnant for about four months with one of her own children.

“I didn’t know for quite a while,” Chappell remembers. “Not everybody feels their child move.”

Officer Kelly Chappell.Courtesy of Kelly Chappell

Officer helps pregnant woman.

Courtesy of Kelly Chappell

source: people.com