LeConte’s New Year Baby

Make Way for Baby!

LeConte New Year’s Baby arrives after a traffic tie-up and a stop at the fire hall

When baby Freyja Coy came into the world it was quite an adventure for her parents. Makhala Warren and Steven Coy knew there was a chance she might be born on New Year’s Day, but since it was Warren’s first pregnancy, they were also prepared to wait. In fact, labor was supposed to be induced on January 3 if the baby hadn’t already arrived by then.

But Freyja decided to keep her due date appointment and Warren went into labor on the day of New Year’s Eve. Her parents were prepared with the all the things moms and dads usually put in place when a new baby is on the way. Freyja had clothes waiting and a comfortable place to sleep in a Gatlinburg home.

The one thing Warren and Coy couldn’t have been prepared for was Gatlinburg traffic on New Year’s Eve.

“We pulled off our road and suddenly got stopped and the traffic was deadlocked through Gatlinburg,” Coy says. “Traffic was an absolute nightmare.”

With Warren in labor and with traffic moving at a crawl, they called an ambulance and Coy pulled over at the Gatlinburg Fire Department. A trip that would ordinarily take five minutes had taken 30.

The ambulance maneuvered Warren through holiday traffic to LeConte Medical Center with Coy coming along in the car. At the hospital, the mom-to-be was surrounded by compassionate and comforting medical staff who were prepared to deliver the baby with comprehensive care.

“They were awesome,” Warren says, “Fantastic. Oh goodness, we had amazing nursing staff.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a mom,” Warren says. “Freyja is a super sweet baby. She’s changed my whole world. She really has.”

The Dolly Parton Birthing Unit at LeConte Medical Center is a modern, comfortable, family-oriented facility providing parents personal attention and medical technology to create a memorable and pleasant birthing experience.

The Birthing Unit has been the recipient of many prestigious awards including the BEST for Babies Award from the Tennessee Department of Health and the Tennessee Hospital Association. It’s also one of only four hospitals in the state recognized by Newsweek as a Best Maternity Hospital and has earned recognition for measures to ensure safe sleep for newborns.

For more information about labor and delivery services at LeConte Medical Center and the Dolly Parton Birthing Unit, or to schedule a tour of the Sevierville facility, call 865-446-8220, or reach out via our online contact form.