Dramatic transcript of a birth (Emerg. Operator assists via phone; Audio included...very touching)

The Sun (U.K.) ^ | September 25, 2007 | SAMANTHA WOSTEAR

[Stoat]

 
Phone birth ... Jacob, Leo and Jane
Picture: LINDA NYLIND, 2007

Dramatic transcript of a birth

 
By SAMANTHA WOSTEAR
September 25, 2007
 
 

 

 
THE moment a new life entered the world has been captured in a moving 999 call between an anxious dad and an emergency operator.

 

Cool-headed Katie Vellis calmly guided Leo Hickman through his wife Jane’s labour, resulting in the birth of healthy 8lb baby Jacob.

The 20-minute delivery was recorded on tape — along with the couple’s fear, desperation and eventual elation — after their midwife got stuck in traffic.

Incredibly, 20-year-old Katie only finished her training in March and Leo’s call the following month was the first of its kind she had received.

She said afterwards: “What Leo and Jane were going through was so much more stressful, so I had to stay calm for their sake.”

To hear the 999 call click here 

Leo, a 35-year-old journalist, had rushed home after getting a call from mother-in-law Margaret.

She was taking care of Jane and grandchildren Esme, four, and two-year-old Jessie at their home in Brixton, south London.

Jane was a week overdue when she went into labour.

Here, is an edited transcript of Leo’s dramatic 999 call:

Operator: Emergency ambulance. What’s the problem? Tell me exactly what’s happened.

Leo: Hello, my wife is in labour and is having the baby at home, but she is really feeling the urge to push and the midwife, who is stuck in traffic trying to get here, said to call you if that’s the case. The operator then establishes Jane is 34, it is her third pregnancy and she is a week overdue.

Operator: Is the baby completely out?

Leo: No. No, she is just having the urge to push.

Operator: Can you see any part of the baby now?

Leo: (Pause) No.

Operator: How many minutes apart are the contractions?

Leo: About a minute apart. Her last labour was 45 minutes.

Operator: Have you had any high-risk complications with the birth?

Leo: No.

Operator: OK, I’m organising help now. Just stay on the line and I will tell you what to do next. Do not try to prevent the birth. Do not allow her to cross her legs or sit on the toilet. Allow her to sit in the most comfortable position and have her take deep breaths between contractions.

Leo: OK.

Operator: (Pause) Right, where is she now?

Leo: She’s in our bedroom laying against the bed with her knees on the floor.

Operator: Is that the most comfortable position for her?

Leo: Yes.

Operator: Has she got her clothes removed below her waist?

Leo: Yes, she has everything off. (Sound of Jane having a contraction in background.)

Operator: Have you got clean towels and blankets?

Leo: Yep.

Operator: Does she want to push?

Leo: Yes, I think she does.

Operator: I want you to look very closely to see how close the baby is to being born. (Pause). OK, do you see any part of the baby now?

Leo: Yeah, I think I can see a head. Yes, I think the top of the head.

Operator: OK, you think, yeah?

Leo: I can’t quite tell.

Operator: With each contraction, apply firm but gentle pressure to keep the baby’s head . . .

Leo: To keep it in?

Operator: No, you do not want to keep it in. Place the palm of the hand there and apply firm but gentle pressure to keep the baby's head from delivering too fast and tearing.

Leo: OK.

Operator: As the baby is delivered I need you to support the baby’s head and shoulders and hold the hips and legs firmly. Remember, the baby will be slippery so try not to drop it.

Operator: (Pause) How’s she doing? Can you still see the head?

Leo: (Pause) Er, it’s retreated a little bit now. It’s closed up a bit more. OK, there’s another contraction happening now.

Jane: (Screaming) Ohhh, I need to push! I need to push!

 

Safe hands ... 999 girl Katie is thrilled
to meet Jacob
 

 

Leo: She needs to push.

(Jane moaning and screaming in background).

Leo: If the head comes out, what should I do?

Operator: If the head starts coming out, you’ve got to hold the head, OK? And stop it being delivered too fast. You want to deliver it, but not too fast, OK?

Leo: I can feel it. OK, the head’s coming!

Operator: The head’s coming? OK, right. As the baby is delivered, you’ve got to support the baby’s head and shoulders. Can you see the shoulders?

Leo: Hang on. Wait, wait, wait. Yeah, it's coming, I think.

Operator: You need to support the baby’s head and shoulders and hold the hips and legs firmly.

Leo: Hang on. (Long pause while Leo does an examination).

Operator: How are you doing?

Leo: OK, you know, I don’t think it is the head actually. (Leo is very scared now. Instead of a smooth baby’s head, what he is looking at has become rippled and ridged in appearance and blotchy in colour. But he is worried about telling the operator in case he frightens Jane).

Leo: Something’s coming out, but I don’t know what it is. (Jane moaning in background.)

Operator: You don’t know what it is? (Jane experiencing another contraction in background.)

Leo: I think . . . I think it’s part of the sac.

Operator: Part of the sac?

Leo: Which hasn’t burst yet. (Jane moaning in background.)

Operator: (Long pause) Right, if the sac hasn’t burst, you need to go and get a safety pin in case the baby is born in the sac.

(Leo runs to the landing and freezes, trying to think where he can find a pin. He wonders whether he could use a badge? Would a barbecue skewer work? After 30 seconds of panic he returns to find Jane’s waters have broken.)

Jane: There’s loads of meconium!

(Meconium — the baby’s first poo— can cause complications, especially in a home birth.)

Operator: There is? (Pause.) OK, you’re still going to need to support the baby. Is it the sac coming out? The baby must be in the sac.

Leo: Yep.

Operator: Is the head coming out?

Leo: OK, the head’s coming!

Operator: Right, you need to support the head and shoulders and hold the hips and legs, OK? It will be slippery so don’t drop him!

Leo: OK. (Jane breathing heavily). Come on, little baby.

Operator: Is it in the sac?

Leo: No, I can see the head! I can see the face! (The baby’s eyes and mouth are closed and there is no movement in his face at all. Leo had expected the baby to breathe as soon as the head was born, so is feeling frightened now.)

Operator: OK, that’s fantastic. Just keep supporting the baby, OK.

Leo: OK. (Pause) Jane, you're doing really well. (Pause) The shoulders are out.

Operator: OK, just keep supporting the head.

Leo: OK. (Pause) There’s lots of waters breaking.

Operator: Is the whole baby out? Right, what I want you to do is wipe the baby clean. (Pause.) Is the baby crying or breathing?

Leo: It’s not fully out yet. (It could be the thick umbilical cord that makes Leo say this. The baby has in fact been born. The only clean towel is dirty. Leo is on his knees holding the baby, unable to put him down to run for another towel. Jane is unable to turn round to hold him because she can’t get her leg over the cord. Both parents are worried because the baby is not crying.)

Operator: Tell me when the baby’s completely out.

Jane: Get Mum!

Leo: (Shouting downstairs). Margaret! (Pause.) OK, the baby’s completely out!

Operator: Is the baby crying or breathing?

Leo: Yes, it’s crying. The baby is making small crying noises.

Operator: Right, what I want you to do is gently wipe off the baby’s mouth and nose. Dry the baby off with a clean towel. Then wrap the baby in a clean, dry towel, OK.

Leo: OK.

Operator: Just wipe the baby's mouth and nose first. Yeah?

Leo: (Shouting downstairs) I need a clean towel! Quick!

Operator: You need a couple, OK. One to dry the baby with and one to wrap him in. Is it a boy or a girl?

Leo: (Laughing) Er, I don’t know yet. Pause. A little boy.

Operator: Congratulations.

Leo: (Margaret enters room) Quick, quick. (Baby crying.)

Jane: Oh, my baby.

Leo: Any towel! (Long pause as towels arrive and baby is cleaned and swaddled.) Shall I give the baby to Mum?

Operator: Is he wrapped up in a towel?

Leo: Yes.

Operator: Don’t pull the cord too tight and put the baby in mother's arms. Be sure to keep the baby and the mother warm.

Leo: OK.

Operator: Right, the ambulance is really close.

Jane: Is it, OK?

Leo: Yes. (Pause, knocking heard downstairs.) OK, I think the midwife or the ambulance is now here.

Operator: It must be the ambulance. I’ll have a look.

Leo: The mum’s got the baby now in her arms.

Operator: She’s doing OK?

Leo: I think so, yeah.

Operator: How’s the baby?

Leo: She’s a bit . . . he’s a bit quiet, but he’s making kind of gurgling noises.

Operator: He’s still breathing, yeah?

Leo: (Two midwives enter) OK, the midwife is here now.

Operator: OK, do you want me to leave you with her? The ambulance is extremely close now. It’ll be with you soon. You’ve done a fantastic job. Congratulations.

(Two ambulance crews enter — there are now six professionals on the scene.

Operator: Thank you. Goodbye.

[Stoat]

Listening to the audio of this and reading along with it brought tears to my eyes....such a wonderful event to capture on tape. "sniffle"

In case the audio link doesn't work through the Free Republic system you might need to click on the article's link and try again....it worked fine for me from the USA.

[Stoat]

ping

[iowamark]

Typical British people. Very calm voiced. No panic.