‘Little Nugget’ Came into the World with the Help of McDonald’s Employees
En route to an Atlanta hospital, an expectant mom suddenly needed to make a potty stop. Her fiancé pulled into a McDonald’s, which turned out to be the birthplace of their baby girl.
New mom Alandria Worthy told an NBC affiliate reporter that as soon as she entered the McDonald’s restroom, her water broke. She began screaming.
Tunisia Woodward, general manager of the fast-food restaurant, heard Worthy’s cries and went to investigate. Woodward said she opened the restroom door and didn’t see anyone, “but I saw feet” under the door. Worthy was lying back on the toilet.
‘We’re Having a Baby Today’
Woodward quickly realized what was happening. “I knew to tell my crew, ‘We’re having a baby today,’” Woodward said. Her colleagues, Sha’querria Kaigler and Keisha Blue-Murray, quickly began assisting, too. Kaigler placed a call to 911.
Deandre Phillips, the soon-to-be dad, wondered why Worthy was taking so long and went to check on her. “I was trying to calm her down because she was frantic,” Phillips told the Associated Press. “I was like, ‘Just breathe.’”
He added that “the ladies at McDonald’s were … holding her hands; I had her feet propped up on my knees. We told her to push three pushes,“ he said. And after those pushes and in less than 15 minutes, Nandi Ariyah Moremi Phillips was born. Mom and baby are doing just fine following the birth last Wednesday.
Nicknamed ‘Little Nugget’
Woodward appropriately nicknamed the baby “McDonald’s Little Nugget,” and Phillips has pronounced it fitting. “She’s definitely a nugget,” he said. “My parents loved the name, too. We were like, OK, it fits her. My Little Nugget.”
Steve Akinboro, who owns the franchise, was pleased that his employees rose to the occasion. “We don’t just serve food. We strive to serve feel-good moments every day, and this was in fact the epitome of a feel-good moment for my team,” according to a New York Post report.
Akinboro rewarded the delivery team with $250 gift cards, and Woodward said she plans to use hers to spoil Little Nugget. In addition, the McDonald’s employees have planned a baby shower at the restaurant.
McBaby = Divine Intervention
Worthy is a thrilled new mom who’s still coming to grips with the McDonald’s delivery. “Oh, my God, it’s still crazy that it happened. She popped out onto my hand,” Worthy said. “Life’s amazing right now. Never would I ever [have] thought I would deliver my own baby.”
“We are all mothers,” Woodward said of the McDonald’s crew, “so we put our heads together, and all we needed Daddy to do was catch the baby. And he did.” The young parents said “divine intervention” brought them to McDonald’s where the three women could help.