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117th year — No. 271Salina, Kansas FRIDAY September 28,1990Tom DoriftyEric Mansfield poses with his mother, Linda Mansfield, and newborn sister, Jennifer, who he helped deliver at the family’s home.Family in public eye after home birthBy MARISA DANIELS Staff WriterHaving a baby in the privacy of a home is not a private affair, at least not when a 3-year-old helps deliver.Eric Mansfield helped his mother, Linda Mansfield, deliver her baby on the kitchen floor of their home Tuesday when she suddenly went into labor. The family has no telephone and no one else was home.Since then, Linda, Eric and 3-day-old Jennifer, have become celebrities.The family is to be featured on ABC’s Home Show at 10 a.m. today on Salina Cable TV Channel 10. Jack Mansfield, who is the father, Linda and Eric are to talk by telephone from KSAL Radio Station to Home Show hosts Gary Collins and Dana Fleming during the show. A pretaped segment about the family discussing the birth at their home also is to be shown.“This is something a woman did at home and we’re touched by it,” Home Show segment producer Ann Wexler said. “We think it's great that she could handle it on her own and we’re cheering her on.”The incident has drawn attention nationally and abroad.Before Channel 10 arrived, KTVH Channel 12 of Wichita interviewed the couple and Eric at their home at 444 S. Ninth.A British news service in New York called the Salina Journal Thursday morning to ask how to contact the family.And Thursday night, the birth was mentioned on the' ’Arsenio Hall” talk show.“To us this is a big deal, but we didn’t think that many other people really cared about it,” Linda, 31, said Thursday as she cuddled Jennifer.Linda and her baby were seen by Dr. GordonMaxwell at his office several hours after the birth and released. Both are at home and doing well. Eric is doing well also.“We wondered how this would affect Eric, but he is handling it real well,” said Linda’s husband, Jack.The couple feared the new baby might cause Eric to feel rejected.“But we think this helped a lot,” Jack said. “It’s not like mommy left for a few days and came back with a new baby. He was just real curious and he wanted to be part of it.”Since the birth, Eric has been bubbling with excitement—and questions.“He used to think babies popped out of belly buttons,” Jack said. “We’ve been answering lots and lots of questions, ”In addition to Eric and Jennifer, the couple(See Birth, Page 7)
Newspaper Details
Salina Journal
Salina, Kansas, US
Fri, Sep 28, 1990
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Salina P.
KS, USA 02 May 2025
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