Arkansas’ maternity ward shortage sometimes leads to births in ambulances, paramedics say

Arkansas’ maternity ward shortage sometimes leads to births in ambulances, paramedics say

(Getty Images)Mike Tharp said he stopped counting years ago how many babies he’s delivered in ambulances in the more than two decades he’s been a paramedic in the Arkansas Delta. Most of the time the deliveries aren’t complicated, said Tharp, who works for Pafford Medical Services in Phillips County. But then there are the ones that involve a breech birth or the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, raising the stakes for paramedics. “Y…