Newborn with sepsis saved by off-duty midwife
WHEN her day- old baby turned blue, Nicole Tierney didn’t ring 999 – instead she called upon her community midwife.
Minutes later, Nicky Hennell turned up, despite being off- duty, and performed CPR to save the boy’s life.
Paramedics then rushed Austin to hospital, where doctors found he had a nightmare combination of meningitis, sepsis and a severe Group B streptococcus infection.
He spent six weeks receiving specialist care, during which Miss Tierney was warned there was a 50 per cent chance of developing a permanent disability. But a year on, Austin is perfectly healthy – and both the mother and midwife are close friends.
Miss Tierney, 27, said: ‘I messaged Nicky and she came over right away in her free time, even though it’s not really her job. As she arrived he stopped breathing.’
Miss Hennell, 47, added: ‘It was the first time I had to do CPR on a baby in someone’s home without another midwife there. The training kicked in and I knew what I had to do.’ The women already knew each other from Miss Tierney’s first pregnancy, when she had daughter Mia, now two. MissHennell visited her home in Gloucester for regular check-ups and support.
The meetings continued when she was carrying Austin, and she gave birth at Gloucester Royal Hospital on February 5 last year. Hours after he was discharged, Miss Tierney noticed her son was turning blue and grabbed her phone.
Describing Miss Hennell’s handling of the situation when she arrived, she said: ‘She completely took control.’
Austin was in intensive care at a Bristol hospital for five days before being trans- ferred back to Gloucester for another five weeks. Marketing student Miss Tierney said: ‘Nicky was on the end of the phone the whole time, checking I was OK.’
Austin celebrated his first birthday with the help of a cake made by Mrs Hennell, who is now based in Chelmsford, Essex. She also read a poem at his naming ceremony.
‘The fact he is alive today isn’t just down to me. Nicole’s instincts as a mum were amazing, realising something wasn’t right.’
Miss Tierney now plans to give talks to raise awareness of Group B Strep, which kills a newborn in the UK every week.