Brave mum gave birth alone in -4C car park after being unable to make it to hospital entrance
A mum gave birth alone in a hospital car park clutching a bollard for support, in -4C temperatures.
Jordan Corbett, 27, was unable to make it to the entrance of the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath when her baby, Dennis Stott, “popped” out into her leggings.
Her partner Craig Stott, 34, had run inside to get help.
Luckily, despite his unconventional entrance into the world, Dennis - named after Corbett’s grandfather who died before Christmas - weighed a healthy 7lb 9oz and was able to go home the next day to meet his three siblings.
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Corbett, from Seend, Wiltshire, recalls: "I started getting small pains around 6.30pm that evening, while I was bathing my other children - but at around 8.30pm, things had got really painful.
"I decided to call the hospital, but they said because I could still talk through my contractions, it wasn't the right time. So I took two paracetamol - which ended up being the only pain relief I had for the birth - and carried on."
Just 45 minutes later, as the pain progressively worsened, Corbett called the hospital again, and was told to pay a visit to the pre-assessment unit for a "check over".
During the 17-mile drive to the hospital, Corbett felt the pain worsen, but felt a “sudden change” as she arrived at the carpark.
"I told my partner that my waters must have broken, or that I’d wet myself. It was a bit of a panic after that,” Corbett adds.
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Corbett made it as far as a bollard opposite the doors before she found she couldn’t walk any further.
"I told him [Stott] to go and get help, and then felt the baby’s head move. I knew I was alone, but still tried to shout 'help me',” she says.
"The head came out and then I pushed the rest of him out and he fell into my leggings. I didn’t know then if I should wait for someone to appear or try to get towards the door. I put my arm into my leggings and cradled him there.
"It was so cold, about -4C, and it had snowed the day before so I made the decision to try move."
Minutes later she was met by Stott, a wheelchair and a small army of midwives.
"They told me I had high blood pressure - which wasn’t much of a surprise," Corbett jokes.
"It’s quite the story, and I had to stop to take a picture with the bollard when I left the hospital the next day. Dennis is healthy, I’m healthy, we’ve been very lucky."
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An RUH spokesman said: "Births like these are an extremely rare event for the trust. We are really pleased that our midwives were quickly able to provide care for mother and baby - we send our congratulations and wish them well."
Additional reporting by SWNS.
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