Son of Teaneck Mayor Delivered at HackensackUMC during Hurricane Sandy
October 31, 2012 09:14 AM
Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin and his wife, Faiza Poshni welcomed a new son into the world on October 30. Zain Hameeduddin wasn’t due to arrive until November 7, when Faiza was scheduled to undergo a cesarean section to deliver the baby. But, in the early hours of October 30, in the midst of Hurricane Sandy, Faiza went into labor.
“It was scary. The winds were howling and I was hoping it wasn’t contractions,” said Faiza Poshni. “But as they got closer, I knew we had to go right then.”
“My wife said, ‘I’m having contractions’,” recalled Mohammed Hameeduddin, the mayor of Teaneck. “I said, ‘Are you serious,’ and she said, ‘Yes. I think I’m having the baby!’
Mayor Hameeduddin called 911. While they waited for paramedics to arrive, the couple called their doctor, who is an attending physician at Valley Hospital. But, their doctor said because of the storm, she couldn’t drive to Ridgewood and the Hameeduddin’s were unsure if they could get there as well.
“Our doctor couldn’t get to Valley and it wasn’t feasible for us to get to Valley because we weren’t sure how the roads were,” said Faiza. “It’s 40 minutes in good weather and we wondered what would it be like during a hurricane?”
The Hameeduddin’s doctor suggested they go to a closer hospital. They asked the paramedics to take them to Hackensack University Medical Center.
“In case there were any complications, we wanted to be in the right place. Because HackensackUMC has a Level 3 NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), we wanted to come here,” said Mayor Hameeduddin.
When Faiza and Mohammed arrived, they were met by Dr. Shelley Saber, attending physician of the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital at HackensackUMC, who contacted the Hameeduddin’s doctor from Valley to discuss Poshni’s medical history.
“I spent time talking with the Hameeduddin’s and when they felt comfortable, we proceeded with the
C-section,” said Dr. Saber. “Everything went great. There were no complications and we delivered a healthy baby boy.”
Zain Hameeduddin was born at 10:43 a.m. on October 30 weighing seven pounds, 1.6 ounces.
“I feel great and we’re very excited to have a new baby,” said Faiza, as she held her new bundle of joy. “I feel blessed we were able to make it to HackensackUMC and we thank Dr. Saber and the staff at the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital for making us feel safe and right at home. Going into labor during a hurricane and having to travel during the storm was an incredibly scary experience. But, once we arrived at HackensackUMC and met Dr. Saber, we knew we were in good hands.”
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