PARENTS’ SHOCK AT SPECIAL DELIVERY Baby surprise for nurse after 12-hour shift
A HERO nurse who didn’t know she was pregnant gave birth to a baby girl at her Sunderland home after finishing a 12-hour shift.
Emma Hindmarsh, 31, said she had been suffering sharp pains throughout her shift in a complex care unit on May 3 – but had no idea she was expecting a baby.
And although the mental health nurse noticed she had put on some weight, she put it down to over-eating during the coronavirus lockdown.
But after Emma’s pains got worse at their High Barnes home, an ambulance was called but, before paramedics arrived, Emma and husband Daniel, 34, delivered their 5lb 8oz daughter.
There had been no sign that the couple, who have a son Oliver, three, were about to become parents for the second time and they’re still reeling from the shock of the unexpected arrival.
Daniel announced the news on Facebook, posting: “After coming in from a 12-hour shift last night and going to bed with the most horrendous pains Emma Hindmarsh and myself were most surprised when two hours and two paracetamol later this little one arrived completely out of the blue.
“Say hello to Isabelle Rose Hindmarsh, born 3/5/20 at 1.45 weighing 5lb 8oz.”
Emma and Isabelle are now home following days of extra monitoring at Sunderland Royal Hospital where doctors said the position of the placenta may have hidden feelings of Isabelle’s movement.
Emma said: “Something didn’t feel right and I thought it could be my appendix because of the really sharp pain.
“We spoke to 111 and they agreed that was possible and did an assessment, to see if we could save going to hospital under the current circumstances.
“That’s when I rang my mam to say we were waiting for an ambulance and asked if she could come and look after Oliver. Then the pains got worse and I was lying down on the bed when my waters broke.
“Isabelle started to appear and Daniel could see her head and my mam shouted that I needed to really push.
“I never dreamed I would be walking out to the ambulance carrying a baby.
“I had no pregnancy symptoms, I didn’t have any morning sickness, cravings, hadn’t gone off anything and I was still in my normal clothes, which were a little bit tight, but I thought that was through the lockdown and having been eating a bit more.
“It’s totally surreal. I can’t put into words how it feels. It’s just so lovely that she’s ours and we literally didn’t have anything, not even a Babygro.
“Oliver is going to be a fantastic big brother and he loves babies, so he’s just going to be besotted with her.
“Obviously, now I’m on maternity and Dan is on paternity leave and it’s been a massive shock to everybody, the ambulance staff, the hospital, family and friends, but they have all been so supportive.
“Daniel is over the moon. I think the sheer experience of it all took away the panic.
“He’s such a hands-on dad and so good with Oliver.
“My mam was just so good as well, she just talked me through it.”
Daniel, who is an engineer at Caterpillar in Peterlee, added: “It’s still just mind-blowing and we’re trying to get our heads around it.
“We didn’t have any inkling at all.
“I had to phone my parents and tell them my wife was having a baby and I couldn’t believe it in that moment that we were going to have a baby.
“I just can’t sing Emma’s praises enough, she did an intensive job all day, took two painkillers and then gave birth.
“We couldn’t wait to get them both home.”