A CLEETHORPES grandmother had to put her first aid training into action when her granddaughter put in an unexpected – and very speedy – appearance.
Proud parents Damien Hullett and Megan Gaunt had only left their home on Cleethorpes Country Park to head for the hospital 25 minutes earlier, when Hayden Erin Hullett decided it was time for her arrival.
Luckily, the couple were just around the corner from Damien's parents' home in Haigh Street when it became clear they were not going to make it – and 15 minutes later his mum Moira delivered Hayden on the front room floor.
Moira, who has worked as a trained first-aider for the Red Cross for 11 years, said: "I had only been home for 40 minutes when Damien phoned me to say Megan had gone into labour and they were on the way to the hospital."
They had planned on dropping off Megan's one-year-old son Jacob Gaunt off at her parents' house on the way, but when they realised they were not going to make it, they took him to Moira and her husband Steve's house instead.
Moira, a mum of five, said: "We had barely closed the door when Damien was in touch again to say they needed help.
"I set off running round the corner, took one look at Meg's face and knew what was happening, so I told Damien to head back around here.
"We got her inside, grabbed some duvet covers I had drying on the radiator and some towels, got some gloves on and just got on with it – and, 15 minutes later, Hayden was here.
"I wasn't acting like a mum or a grandmother at that point. I had to get my professional head back on."
As Moira looked after Megan – who had been due to give birth five days earlier – Damien had been on the phone to the ambulance service, who were giving instructions.
But although the crew arrived ten minutes too late, Hayden was none the worse for her impromptu arrival and is settling in to life with her family – including her delighted big sister Jasmine Hullett, five.
Megan said: "She's just perfect – and, at least it was quick!"
Should you find yourself in a similar situation and are unable to make it to the maternity unit before the arrival of your baby, if en route to the hospital pull into a safe place preferably with a nearby land mark or street name and call 999 for an ambulance. If at home call 999 but also call the maternity unit for a community midwife to attend, if the baby arrives before the ambulance do not cut the chord, quickly dry and wrap the baby and keep warm, skin to skin contact with mother is great. (If you had been in a nice warm bath for the last 9 months you would get very cold very quickly if you suddenly got out!) A rapid arrival usually requires very little medical assistance but will always need to be followed up immediately by a health care professional.
