A first-time mother has welcomed her son in the back of an ambulance in Palmerston, with four St John NT paramedics helping bring baby Austin safely into the world on Wednesday 16 September.
For Paramedic Audrey Jones and Intern Paramedic Stella Higgins-Smith, it was a first of their own: this would be their first on-road baby delivery.
“Driving into the job, I was terrified – I’d never delivered a baby before!” Stella said.
The pair arrived at Bonnie and husband Sam Paudel’s Palmerston home to find Bonnie, who was 38 weeks pregnant, having contractions around two minutes apart.
“With the birth appearing close, we began preparing for a delivery at home and called for support from Intensive Care Paramedic Intern Fergus O’Gallagher and Intensive Care Paramedic James Rowland,” said Audrey.
As they were preparing to deliver, Bonnie’s contractions slowed which meant the crew had time to transport Bonnie to Royal Darwin Hospital.
But about five minutes into the journey, it became clear Austin would arrive before they their journey was complete.
“I pulled the ambulance over to the side of the road and from there things progressed very quickly,” said Stella.
“Fergus and I were in the back of the ambulance with Bonnie and within a few minutes of the ambulance being pulled over, baby Austin was delivered,” recalled Audrey.
“Everything went really smooth especially considering it was Bonnie’s first birth experience.”
“Giving birth in the back of an ambulance probably wasn’t how she’d pictured meeting her son, but she took it all in her stride,” Fergus said.
“I’ve helped deliver babies before, and you never forget that while this is your job, for the parents it’s their whole world. You want them to feel they’re in good hands, wherever it happens.”
With the delivery complete, the family and paramedic crew continued to Royal Darwin Hospital.
“There’s a lot to be proud of in how the crew handled this. The plan changed a couple of times, but everyone adapted and worked together to give Bonnie and Austin the care they needed,” James said.
For Audrey, the birth was a memorable start to her return to the Territory after spending the last three years working in Alice Springs and Tasmania, only being back in Darwin for a few weeks.
“I’ve been a paramedic for four years now and this was my first delivery, so to welcome baby Austin into the world was really special,” she said.
On Wednesday 30 September, Bonnie and Sam reunited with all four paramedics to thank them for helping bring their son safely into the world.
The visit gave Stella, Audrey, Fergus and James the chance to see the family again and spend some time with Austin, with plenty of baby cuddles to go around.
