Baby girl’s dramatic arrival at family home
BY PAUL RODGER A QUICK-THINKING dad delivered his daughter at home after his wife had a rare caul birth – where her waters didn’t break.
Thomas Ridsdill, 40, had to help birth little Heather Ridsdill who was born caul, where membrane – similar to the amniotic sac – covers a newborn baby’s head.
The phenomenon only occurs in about one in 80,000 births.
Kirsten, 38, from Craigendoran near Helensburgh, Argyll, had been at the hospital for a check-up on the morning of December 28 last year.
She was six days overdue but Kirsten claimed medics told her they didn’t think she was close to giving birth. Later that day, while she was in the bath, Kirsten realised she was having contractions.”
Thomas phoned Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, but they were unable to help.
He called the ambulance at 1.19pm but by 1.32pm Heather had been born.
But the dad of four realised something wasn’t right as baby Heather’s head was still inside the amniotic sac.
Thomas said: “I didn’t know what it was. It was see-through and halfway out she started crying.
“I just ripped it open, thinking kids shouldn’t have plastic bags over their heads and cleared her mouth. That was that, absolutely no difficulties whatsoever.”