Express home delivery

By Emma Schenk
A NARRE Warren couple had an unexpected home delivery last week when Sandra Fredericks delivered her baby girl in her bedroom.
Advanced life support paramedics from Berwick were called to the home just after 4am last Wednesday morning and found the 27-year-old in the advanced stages of labour.
Mrs Fredricks was lying on her bed, and paramedics could already see the baby’s head presenting when they arrived.
“It was all over in about an hour and a half,” said Mrs Fredricks.
“It was very sudden and I had no chance to even get in the car once the contractions started.”
“It made it much more stressful to not have the resources there if something went wrong. And now I need a new bed,” she laughed.
While the couple’s two-year-old girl Mia slept peacefully in her room, paramedics coached the mother and told her what was likely to happen next.
After a couple of pushes, their beautiful new baby Sienna was successfully delivered.
“Sienna needed some suction in her mouth, to clear it. We wrapped her in warm towels, gave her back a good rub and placed her on her mother’s chest.
“By that stage she was nice and pink and starting to cry,” said paramedic Meg Cornish.
“It was a great team effort, all hands on deck. It was my first delivery and I couldn’t have done it without my partner. The baby’s father Sheldon was a great help, too,” she said.
“He warmed the towels for us and even cut the umbilical cord.”
Sandra was visited by the paramedic in hospital the day after the birth, and is thankful for their help on the night.
“If the ambulance hadn’t come, we would have had absolutely no idea what to do so it’s lucky they arrived in time,” she said.
Sandra and Sienna were taken to Casey Hospital after the birth for routine care and were released on Friday.