Election Day labor: Child born hours after mother votes
Tessa Von Fange cast her ballot in Shawnee County, Kansas, before going into labor and delivering a daughter early Tuesday morning.
By Ethan Cooper ·
A child born in the hours following the November 3 election was the result of a labor that began at a Kansas polling place. Tessa Von Fange cast her vote at the Shawnee County Elections Office in Topeka before going into active labor. Her daughter, Morgan, arrived at 1:16 a.m. on Tuesday, November 3, weighing 8 pounds and 1 ounce.
Von Fange described herself as a longtime participant in local elections. She stated she has missed very few voting cycles. "I don't think there are too many elections that I've missed," she said. "So, especially as I've gotten older, I don't miss them at all really."
The couple had planned for the baby to arrive after the election. Von Fange expected to make it to her scheduled induction. "I'm going to make it to that induction. I had already really thought I wasn't going to have her before then," she said. She added that she remained in denial about the onset of labor until her water broke.
Her husband, Chris Von Fange, received news of the labor from an election worker. He described the moment as overwhelming. "Shocked, I was overwhelmed," he said. "Just to hear from the election worker that your wife is in labor is like millions of questions."
The family had selected the baby's name before the trip to the polling place. Von Fange noted the name choice influenced her thoughts during the wait. "We had her name picked out already," she said. "Her name is Morgan, but it did make me think, what would that be? If she were a boy, Chad. I thought that was funny."
Von Fange received a sticker for future voters at the elections office. She placed the sticker on her belly before leaving for the hospital. "That was the only sticker I got, but I stuck it right on my belly and came to the hospital with it on," she said.
Chris Von Fange encouraged others to find time to vote despite other obligations. "No matter what you have going on, there's always a half-hour of your time that can be spent to go to a polling place to have your vote cast," he said.
