GRAN DELIVERS REMEMBRANCE DAY BABY
A GRANDMOTHER has described the moment she helped deliver her daughter’s baby at midnight with “no paramedics, no midwives, no nothing”.
Karen Watson, aged 54, was at home asleep on Saturday, November 10, when she received a call from daughter Kate Hall to say her waters had broken.
Karen jumped in the car and headed to her daughter’s home in Pen y Wern, Llanelli, calling her daughter-in-law on the way.
When they arrived, fitness instructor Kate, who was due to give birth on November 8, was almost ready to start pushing.
“We just sped down there,” she said.
“We’re a close family. I didn’t know what I was doing, I just stuck my clothes on, got in the car and drove round.
“There was no way she was going in the car, so we rang the ambulance as soon as we got there.”
But the ambulance operator told them there was no ambulance nearby that could come straight away. So Karen, who already has seven grandchildren, rolled up her sleeves and took charge.
“The operator talked us through it,” she explained.
“The closest I have ever come to delivering a baby was watching Call the Midwife.
“It’s something you will never forget – you are scared, you are crying, but you are just so glad you can be there too.”
The phone operator, Paula Stourfield, instructed Karen and her daughter-in-law, Hannah, to get shoelaces and safety pins.
“The shoelaces were for tying off the cord when the baby came out, but I still don’t know what the pins were for,” she said after.
“As the baby came out, Hannah whispered, ‘That’s the cord over the top of the head,’ so there was a bit of a rush to make sure we pulled it away.”
In 25 minutes, it was all over, and Karen was able to hold her new granddaughter for the first time.
Weighing 6lb 14.5oz, she was named Poppymae, after the day she was born: at 12.37am on November 11, 2018.
“Kate never screamed, all I heard was her saying she wanted to push,” said Karen. “But I did my own bit of screaming – I think I woke the whole street up.”
The commotion woke up Kate’s two young sons, Alfie, aged 5, and Ellis, 3, who watched their sister being born, with husband David looking on.
For Hannah, who is studying an access to healthcare course, it was a chance to put her training into action.
“We told her she had done her practical course now,” said Karen.
The midwife and ambulance arrived after Poppymae was born, and mum and baby were taken to hospital for a check-up.
Karen now has eight grandchildren, all of whom are under eight years old: Poppy-mae, Robyn, Ellis, Thomas, Eleanor, Alfie, Ava-rose and Isabelle.
The birthday and name “Poppy-mae” are particularly significant for the family. Kate’s great-grandfather, Jerry, fought in the First World War for the Leicester Regiment in India and Burma, not returning until 1947.
Jerry’s brother, Joe, fought in Dunkirk. Younger brother Steve died two days after the D-day Landing, aged only 19.
The shoelaces were for tying off the cord when the baby came out, but I still don’t know what the pins were for