Baby delivered in back of ambulance on North West T-Way
BABY Siena was delivered on the North West T-way in the back of an ambulance, giving the newborn the perfect nickname — T-way.
Parramatta
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BABY Siena was delivered on the North West T-way in the back of an ambulance, giving the newborn the perfect nickname — T-way.
Mum Michelle Berardinelli was at a Merrylands West friend’s home for a celebration on April 29 when contractions started. It only took 40 minutes for her to arrive.
The Oakville woman was nonchalant about the baby’s arrival. She thought she had plenty of time to get to hospital.
Her friends caved and called an ambulance. When the Northmead-based paramedics arrived her contractions were three to four minutes apart.
It was a quick decision to get her into the ambulance and head to hospital. They were on their way to Norwest Private Hospital and the contractions had quickened. They were down to 30 seconds apart and a decision was made to pull over on the T-way at Fitzilliam Rd, Winston Hills. The baby was coming.
“I was in disbelief that it was happening,” Mrs Berardinelli said.
“And I was spewing I didn’t have my hospital bag with me.”
She was in very capable hands — Inspector Andrew McAlpine has delivered 14 babies, Inspector Jennine Kiely nine, Charnan Kurth with three and Cheryl Mason with two.
All four plus the patient were inside the ambulance. They’d set up a resuscitation space for the baby when it arrived but the delivery wasn’t progressing.
Shoulder dystocia meant the delivery of the baby’s head and shoulder couldn’t get through. Both Inspectors had recently completed training on what to do in this exact situation, which occurs in 34 per cent of vaginal births.
“We had to change mum’s posture. There were a few things you can do to help when this happens,” Insp McAlpine said.
Insp Kiely said they were on the phone to dad Josh Berardinelli, letting him know every step of the way what was happening.
Ms Mason eventually took delivery of the baby, Insp McAlpine held the baby while mum was turned over and baby Siena was then put straight on mum’s chest to be breastfed. It was the best outcome they could have wished for but they were feeling for dad as he waited at Norwest Private Hospital.
They snapped photos within seconds of Siena arriving in the world and sent them to him so he could be part of the moment.
“I was standing there thinking, they should have been here by now. I was talking to the crew when they were on their way and then nothing for a while. I got a call back saying “congratulations, you’ve had a baby girl”,” he said.
“It’s a little bit different because I was there the whole time for our first.”
Mrs Berardinelli video called her hubby and then her son Enzo, who she’d left with her girlfriends back at the Merrylands West celebration. There were squeals of delight from her friends, who couldn’t believe she hadn’t made it to the hospital.
The entire delivery, from water breaking to delivery, took 40 minutes. The family laughed when little Siena’s birth certificate arrived. For many babies it says “hospital” but in this case it says “T-way, Winston Hills”.
WHOA, BABY
● 348 babies were born before mum arrived at hospital in 2017
Of those figures:
● 240 were assisted by NSW Ambulance call takers
● 100 baby deliveries were completed by paramedics
● 44 babies arrived before mum could reach the phone
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