Pittsburgh police save baby who wasn't breathing

A baby who wasn’t breathing prompted quick action by two Pittsburgh police officers and is recovering, according to a post on Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 5 Facebook page.

The officers, Jena Bednarowicz and Bryce Valencic, were on patrol Sunday in the city’s Larimer neighborhood when they were dispatched to a corner store on Lincoln Avenue for an unresponsive child.

The baby’s grandmother flagged down the officers and led them to the back room of the store, where the baby’s father was tending to his 1-year-old son.

The baby wasn’t breathing, and Bednarowicz saw vomit in the baby’s mouth and began patting his back. Valencic used his finger to clear vomit from the baby’s mouth. Once his airway was cleared, he began gasping for breath and was revived, the Facebook post said.

City paramedics arrived and took over treatment.

Police learned the baby and his father were in an apartment above the store, and the child started having problems after taking a bottle.

The father ran downstairs to alert the child’s grandmother, who works at the store. She called 911, police said.

Tom Davidson is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tom at 724-487-7208, tdavidson@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribDavidson.