Friday 13 August 2010

‘Superdad’ Dave Brown delivers baby after hospital rejects mum in labour

A 'superdad' delivered his baby after his partner was turned away from hospital twice in 24 hours. Dave Brown also gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to his newborn girl after girlfriend Emma Habens had been told she was not about to give birth. Mr Brown, 42, said he followed tips he had seen on television programmes to help deliver Maisie safely.
 
Miss Habens says hospital staff told her the day before her daughter was born that a birth was not imminent, even though her waters had broken. The 30-year-old went into labour the next morning and returned to the maternity unit. 'They said to me, "Go home, take two paracetemol and have a lie down",' said Miss Habens. 'We went home and, a few hours later, I was lying down when it just happened.'
 
Mr Brown then called an ambulance and said his adrenalin kicked in when the birth was about to begin. 'I kept telling Emma, "Keep breathing," but I didn't know that's what I was supposed to say – I'd just seen them say it on telly*,' he added, 'When she [Maisie] came out she was blue. I blew into her mouth and she started coughing and screaming.' The ambulance then took the family, of Newbury, Berkshire, to hospital.
 
'Dave was amazing. He was a superdad,' said Miss Habens.
 
Sandra Housten, head of midwifery at North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke, said: 'Every effort is made to ensure women are assessed and able to spend the early part of labour at home and then deliver safely in hospital. 'But some babies do arrive quickly once labour starts.'
 
Source: The Metro
 
* Call me a sentimental old fool, but I find that bit very touching.
 

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