US TV presenter Olivia Jaquith stays on-air for three hours after her waters break during live broadcast

A US news anchor in New York presented a three-hour show in the early stages of active labour, shocking her co-host.

Julia Dunn, who is also pregnant, couldn’t believe her co-host Olivia Jaquith was still on air just as they wrapped up the show, with Jaquith’s waters breaking at 4.15am, at the start of their broadcast.

“Whole show! Look at that, three hours of news, in contractions – I think that’s a first for CBS6,” Dunn said at the end of the broadcast, giving Jaquith a high-five.

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Jaquith was two days past her due date when the labour began on Wednesday morning (Thursday AEST).

“We do have some breaking news this morning,” Dunn said at the start of the show.

“Literally, Olivia’s water has broke, and she is anchoring the news now in active labour.”

Playing it down a bit, Jaquith said it was “early labour, early labour, let’s not get carried away”.

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Dunn told viewers they had been timing her contractions and they were two minutes apart but it didn’t phase Jaquith.

“No, well, there was one, but it’s been a few minutes since then, so we’re still in good shape,” Jaquith said.

“I’m happy to be here, and I’ll stay on the desk for as long as I possibly can. But if I disappear, that’s what’s going on.”

Dunn excitedly kept CBS Albany viewers in the loop with developments during the show and they even made jokes about it during the broadcast about taking a “water break” instead of a coffee break.

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At one point Jacquith turned to their meteorologist and asked: “If my baby does come today, Craig, how’s the weather?”

There was even a clock counter at the top of screen, telling viewers the time since her waters broke.

Jacquith, who is expecting her first child, a boy, according to the CBS affiliate WRGB, told viewers in a Facebook Live her waters broke in the studio bathroom after she got up from behind the news desk thinking she needed to pee.

She revealed it was her decision to stay on, something Dunn also later pointed out to viewers.

“Olivia’s water broke, and she’s still here,” pregnant Dunn marvelled.

“She’s been doing the entire show, this is her decision to do this.”

Jacquith quipped that she’s “rather be at work than at the hospital” and thought this was a better way to wait out early labour.

CBS Albany are yet to update followers with news of Jacquith’s baby arrival.

Jacquith and Dunn aren’t the only ones expecting babies in the newsroom, with WRGB sharing there were four impending arrivals across the US summer.

The first one, a son for Anchor JT and his wife Samantha, arrived on May 18.

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