Highway stretch cradle for trio of recent births
The best surprises come in threes. Early Saturday, a woman gave birth to a boy on the side of busy Highway 16 just east of Saskatoon — the third woman to deliver a child on that stretch of the highway since April. Troy Davies, a paramedic and spokesman for MD Ambulance of Saskatoon, told the Post’s Kyla Garvey that this sort of thing is not business as usual:
Q So, explain the recent baby phenomenon on Saskatchewan Highway 16.
A Our dispatchers, since April, have delivered three babies over the phone, coaching fathers through deliveries. It’s a rarity for us; we’ve never seen anything like this before. I mean, we’ve delivered a lot of babies on the phone and quite a bit in the back of ambulances but to have them all delivered within a 5 km radius in such a short time, well, I’ve been here for over 20 years and this is the first time I’ve seen it.
Q How close were these births really?
A April 4th was the first one; there was one in May and then one on Saturday morning. In
fact, the May and June mothers even knew each other.
Q Run us through the impromptu delivery, what really goes on?
A Basically mom and dad were coming in from out of town on Saturday morning. Mom was nine-months pregnant and they thought they could make it to Royal university Hospital. When the couple called, our dispatchers asked them pertinent questions in order to determine the level of emergency. They deemed it pertinent and told the couple to pull over immediately, then began to walk them through it.
Q Is there risk involved
in having a baby outside of the hospital?
A It’s actually pretty risky. There is a lot that can go wrong by having zero training. The first thing the dispatchers do is try to keep dad calm. I remember the first time I had to talk through a dad; it was intimidating. The first thing you want to hear when the baby comes out is the baby crying. The dispatchers will listen through the phone for this. If they hear the baby crying,
that’s good news. As for a dad doing it, even as a paramedic, I would be pretty nervous delivering my own child.
Q I know deliveries can last a long time; how long was the latest family on the side of the road for?
A In all three of the pregnancies the baby was crowning. Normally mom will usually make it, then all of sudden we’ll just get a spurt like this. The babies wanted out.
Q The women all stopped around the Clavet area along Highway 16, but how far did the women have to travel to get to Saskatoon?
A All three moms were minimum 30 minutes away; they would be 12 kilometres outside of the city (60 kilometres away from the hospital). After the baby was born, we were on the scene two minutes later. One medic took care of the mom and took care of the baby.
Q Any suggestions for future moms preparing to drive this strip?
A Well, if you’re ninemonths pregnant and you really want to give birth you might want to take a drive on this highway. But we always tell women to call an ambulance so that their baby may be born in a clean, sterile environment.