Father forced to deliver own baby at hospital

February 1, 2010 by Shawn Douglas  
Filed under: News

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A father was forced to deliver his own child when the one of the hospital’s midwives disappeared.

Thomas Howard had seen his wife give birth four times, but he never expected that he’d have to use what he had observed to personally deliver the couple’s fifth child.

After Emily Baron, 26, went into labor last Tuesday, she was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital, Lancashire while her husband, Thomas Howard, quickly arranged to have someone watch their children. Howard then rushed to the hospital to be with his wife.

Shortly after arriving, Howard noticed that his wife was bleeding. Unsure if this was normal, he brought it to the attention of the midwife.

“When I asked the midwife if this was normal she said she didn’t know, which didn’t fill me with confidence at all,” Howard told the Daily Mail.

The midwife then left the room, leaving the couple alone. Shortly after, the baby’s head appeared.

“It was then I noticed the baby’s head coming through,” continued Howard. “I pressed the buzzer to get some assistance, but nobody came and I decided that I would have to step in. I have never done anything like it before, but I’ve seen others do it a few times, so I had a rough idea.”

“I think it lasted about 15 minutes, it happened quickly, and I just had to go with it,” he added.

Emily gave birth to a healthy, 4 pound, 15 ounce Madeline Louise Howard at 8.15 a.m. last Tuesday. However, the couple is considering filing a formal complaint about the hospital’s lack of service.

‘”I know that these nurses are busy and work very hard, but I feel the department is understaffed,” said Howard.

“My one-year-old daughter was born with a cleft lip, and Adam had breathing difficulties at birth. They both needed assistance at delivery, and if this had happened to them, I dread to think what the outcome would have been. It’s just a massive relief that this has gone okay and she’s doing well.”

Ruth Gildert, the divisional general manager of family care for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, has since apologized to the couple for the lack of treatment received at Royal Blackburn.

She said: “I would like to apologize to Ms. Baron and her partner for the distress they experienced when their baby was born at Royal Blackburn Hospital. We cannot comment in detail for reasons of patient confidentially but our midwives supervise all women very closely during labor.

“However there may, on some occasions, be the need to briefly leave the room and a baby can be born unexpectedly quickly, especially if this is not the mother’s first child.”

“As a result of the concerns expressed we will be looking very closely into what happened, and we will be contacting the family directly to discuss their concerns with them.”

The incident follows an announcement by Britain’s Nursing and Midwifery Council that the country is still making an effort to catch up to the recommended amount of staff.

The NMC released a report today titled “Support, Supervision and Safety” that addressed the country’s shortfall of midwives.

NMC’s Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes said: “Although successful efforts have been made to boost the numbers of midwives in many regions, others are still lagging behind. This problem could worsen as a significant proportion of experienced midwives and supervisors of midwives are now approaching retirement age.”

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