Briony Benjamin on the birth of beautiful baby ‘Alfie’ during cyclone

Briony Benjamin had already overcome some tough challenges to be a mum. Then she was faced with a cyclone. Here’s how beautiful baby ‘Alfie’ was born in the middle of a storm.

Baby Alfie sure knows how to make an entrance.

One week overdue, his parents last Wednesday were advised to ride out the impending Cyclone Alfred from the safety of hospital, only for mum Briony Benjamin to finally go into labour just as Gold Coast Private lost power on Friday night.

Just like his unofficial storm namesake, baby Alfie (his official name still to be decided) refused to stick to the forecast schedule and finally arrived on Saturday night weighing in at a whopping 4.5kg (10lbs), with cyclone-strength winds still lashing the city.

While Briony and husband Byron Fay were desperate to get back home after five nights in hospital, their own home at Currumbin Valley’s Eco Village still has no power, internet or water, so they have taken refuge with Briony’s parents as they cherish their own little ray of sunshine, along with his 16-month-old brother Charlie.

“Being a week overdue when the cyclone was originally meant to hit, my obstetrician was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it to hospital, especially living in Currumbin Valley, so we figured hospital was the safest place to be,” said Briony, an author and speaker.

“It was definitely a strange feeling to be driving into hospital, not actually in labour, with all of this storm preparation and wild weather around. In the hospital, too, they were busily organising for staff to sleep over and scheduling emergency shifts, it was bizarre. No one had been through this before.

“Nothing happened for the first two days and then on Friday night, as the storm really kicked in, the power went out – there were generators so it was more of a brown-out – and that’s when I started feeling contractions.

“By Saturday they said it would be best if I was induced. So it was a short and intense labour … especially as he was 4.5 kilograms.

“With so many unusual weather events happening, I just hope we can make this world a safer place for our children.”

Byron Fay and Briony Benjamin with baby Alfie, who was born during the cyclone. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Baby Alfie’s amazing birth comes after Briony’s own incredible health story, overcoming stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma after being diagnosed at age 31 with cancer riddled throughout her chest and bones.

She was given just two weeks to freeze her eggs before beginning an intense course of chemotherapy at Gold Coast University Hospital, which would likely damage if not destroy her fertility.

Yet six years later she conceived her first son naturally, followed by baby Alfie 16 months later.

“Being in hospital again for a number of days was a little strange, it was a different hospital but the same area,” she said.

“I just reframed it and thought about how grateful I was that the doctors and nurses did such an amazing job during that time of sadness and fear that now I could be here for such a joyful occasion – even with the cyclone.”

Byron Fay and Briony Benjamin with 16-month-old Charlie Benjamin-Fay and their two-day-old baby, nicknamed Alfie, who was born during the cyclone. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Briony said she was thrilled her baby boy was born on International Women’s Day, especially given her all-female delivery team.

Making it even more special, her obstetrician Dr Yasmin Pilgrim was an old school friend from her days at Somerset College, while the woman who was coordinating the maternity ward during the cyclone was also a cancer survivor who described Briony’s book ‘Life is Tough (But So Are You)’ as her ‘Bible’ during treatment.

“It was such a sweet full circle moment,” she said.

“It was also incredible for Dr Pilgrim to be there, she never misses a birth – even in the middle of a cyclone.

“There was something so powerful for this full female team to be there on International Women’s Day.

“I just thought, how amazing are women? So strong, competent and calm to deliver this beautiful baby boy in the middle of a storm.”

Originally published as Briony Benjamin on the birth of beautiful baby ‘Alfie’ during cyclone