A news anchor in Albany, New York, delivered the day’s breaking news just minutes after her water broke.
On May 21, viewers tuned into WRGB, a CBS affiliate in Schenectady, New York, to find co-anchors Olivia Jaquith and Julia Dunn with grins and big news: Jaquith’s water had broken moments earlier and instead of heading to the hospital, she would remain behind the desk, contractions and all.
Jaquith is expecting her first baby, a boy, according to WRGB. (WRGB did not immediately respond to a request for an update on Jaquith.)
“We do have some breaking news this morning. Literally, Olivia’s water has broke, and she is anchoring the news now in active labor,” Dunn said at the top of the show.
“Early labor. Early labor,” Jaquith added with a smile. “Let’s not get carried away.”
Dunn noted on air that they had been timing Jaquith’s contractions, estimating they were two minutes apart.
“No, well, there was one, but it’s been a few minutes since then, so we’re still in good shape,” Jaquith said.
“I’m happy to be here, and I’ll stay on the desk for as long as I possibly can,” Jaquith added. “But if I disappear, that’s what’s going on.”
Dunn also went live on Facebook Wednesday morning, and Jaquith explained that her water broke while she was in the studio bathroom.
After Dunn asked why she was still at the newsroom, Jaquith said, “I think I can get through a three-hour show.”
On the broadcast, her co-workers celebrated Jaquith with sweet references to her baby news, such as a chyron at the top of the screen that read, “Days Past Due Date: 2.” Later, a headline at the bottom of the broadcast read, “Baby Watch,” and, “Here Comes Baby P, Good Luck Olivia.”
Throughout the show, Jaquith made references to her big day.
“If my baby does come today, Craig, how’s the weather?” Jaquith asked, turning to the show’s meteorologist.
When the show offered a prompt for a coffee break, Jaquith suggested viewers take a “water break.”
Later in the show, Jaquith and Dunn welcomed viewers just tuning in with a recap of the developing story.
“Olivia’s water broke, and she’s still here. She’s been doing the entire show,” Dunn said. “This is her decision to do this.”
“I’d rather be at work than at the hospital,” Jaquith quipped.
Jaquith was still behind the anchor desk at 7:56 a.m., according to footage from WRGB.
“Whole show,” Dunn commented while giving her co-anchor a high-five. “Look at that. Three hours of news, in contractions. I think that’s a first for CBS6.”
“Well, hopefully I don’t see you tomorrow, but make sure you join Julia,” Jaquith told viewers at the end of the broadcast.
Dunn also happens to be pregnant. In March, the co-anchor shared the news of her second pregnancy in a post on Instagram.
In her announcement, both Jaquith and Dunn held their baby bumps and smiled wide for the camera.
“Every morning we have Chobani yogurt together on the anchor desk,” Dunn wrote in her announcement.
