Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard’s family expanded on Aug. 23 when his son, Kevin Leon Byard IV, was born. However, that was a day earlier than the actual due date, which led to the elder Byard becoming a temporary doctor or midwife or sorts. This week, Byard told reporters about how he delivered his son at home while receiving instructions from a doula. Byard and his wife, Clarke, were getting ready to head to the hospital, but then things changed quickly.
“I was downstairs getting the car ready, then went back upstairs and she was still having pretty bad contractions,” Byard said as reported by ESPN. “She was on the floor on her hands and knees and told me to call the doula to come to the house.” Byard then called the doula who told him to get Clarke in a bathtub. He then said he saw his son’s head emerging as he was helping his wife to her feet. Byard then revealed a scary situation about his son.
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“His face was pointing upward,” Byard said. “I could see his face was real purple. I was nervous about that. But the doula told me to support his head, check around his neck, make sure the umbilical cord wasn’t wrapped around his neck. Thank God it wasn’t.” Byard then proceeded with the delivery, which took around 30 minutes.
“The shoulders and everything else just slipped out. I kind of caught him in my arms,” Byard said. “We waited about five seconds, then he coughed two or three times and started crying. … It’s a story that I will be able to tell my son for the rest of our days,” Byard and Clarke are also parents to a 1-year old daughter Elaina, whose birthday is Aug. 22, one day before her brother.
As Byard is enjoying family life, he’s also having fun with the Titans. On Monday night, the Titans defeated the Denver Broncos 16-13, and Byard had a big night. He led the team in tackles with nine and recorded a pass deflection and a forced fumble. Byard is one of the leaders of the Titans defense, playing in every game since he was drafted by the team in 2016. He had a breakout season in 2017, posting 87 tackles, eight interceptions and 16 passes defended.
