New Life Amid Tragedy
Families Reflect on Extraordinary Births Unfolding Amid the Trauma of 9/11
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Key Points
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Janet Kask was legally blind and eight months pregnant when she abandoned her car inside the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and ran through smoke, debris and panicked crowds after learning New York was under attack. An EMT initially feared the baby had died after being unable to detect a heartbeat or fetal movement.
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Kask’s husband, Peter, had undergone heart surgery the previous day but made his way to the delivery room from Penn Station; Kask recalled arriving with bandaged feet and asbestos in her hair while her husband still had medical tape on his chest.
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Aidan Kask was not expected until Oct. 5, meaning his Sept. 11 birth came nearly a month early. He said he did not learn this until middle school, when classmates urged him to write about being born on 9/11 for a classroom assignment.
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Lisa Day said the shock of watching the attacks appeared to coincide with the onset of her labor: “When I turned on the TV, I actually immediately went into labor.” At the hospital, she and her husband found staff distracted by the television coverage and initially struggling to get anyone’s attention.
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Robert Shay used emergency obstetric equipment from his response kit to deliver Marks’s baby without complications before paramedics transported mother and child to a regional medical center; the boy was named Robert partly in Shay’s honor.
When Janet Kask was eight months pregnant on September 11, 2001, she was trapped in the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel as the attacks unfolded. Running through smoke and debris with bandaged feet and asbestos in her hair, she made it to the hospital where early labor struck. Her son Aidan was born that day — nearly a month ahead of schedule. Across the country, other families experienced similar collisions of birth and tragedy, forever linking new life to a day of national loss.
A Pregnant Woman's Escape Through Chaos
Janet Kask, who is legally blind, was eight months pregnant when she learned New York was under attack and abandoned her car inside the tunnel. Sources She ran through the smoke and debris with panicked crowds, arriving at the hospital with severely injured feet. An EMT initially feared the worst — unable to detect a heartbeat or any fetal movement in her unborn son. Her husband Peter, who had undergone heart surgery just the day before, rushed from Penn Station to the delivery room with medical tape still on his chest.
Labor Triggered by the Horror on Television
In Montana, Lisa Day went into labor the moment she witnessed the attacks. Hood County News "When I turned on the TV, I actually immediately went into labor," she recalled. She and her husband rushed to the hospital, only to find staff glued to television coverage of the disaster. The couple struggled to get anyone's attention as the hospital reeled from the news. Lisa gave birth to her only son, Michael John, that same night.
A Roadside Birth at a 9/11 Memorial
In Maine, Maddie Marks went into labor during a September 11, 2002, memorial service — one year after the attacks. Essex News Daily Emergency responder Robert Shay Jr., a firefighter and EMT, delivered her son on the roadside using emergency equipment from his response kit. The birth went smoothly, and paramedics transported mother and child to a regional medical center. Nearly 25 years later, in September 2026, Marks and Shay reunited to mark the connection. Her son was named partly in Shay's honor.
A Generation Born Into Collective Memory
For Aidan Kask, his September 11 birth remained hidden until middle school, when a classroom assignment forced him to confront it. The Suffolk Journal He did not learn he was born nearly a month early — his due date was October 5 — until classmates urged him to write about the day for school. The three births captured something profound: new life emerging from a moment of terror and loss. Each child became permanently linked to the nation's worst attack, their birthdays forever entwined with remembrance and grief.
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