Family reunited with paramedic who helped with surprise delivery

A Newcastle family have been reunited with the paramedic who helped when they called 999 after a surprise delivery.

Jade Baynham from West Denton gave birth to a baby boy at home at the top of the stairs on 12 November 2021, two days before she was due to be induced.

Now one year old, baby Sullivan joined his mum, dad Lee and big brother Bobby to meet paramedic Georgina Campbell, who works for North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), at Backworth Ambulance Station.

The family wanted to thank the ambulance service for what they’d done following a not so typical birth.  

Jade recalls starting contractions and telling husband Lee to ring for an ambulance. She was making her way upstairs when her waters broke.

“The baby’s head was out, and he came out on the landing,” Jade explained. “The umbilical cord snapped and he practically bounced across the carpet!

“I was on auto pilot as I knew we weren’t going to make it to the hospital. Fear took over when I saw all the blood. I’d lost a lot of blood with our first son Bobby so I was scared in case it wouldn’t stop before the paramedics arrived.”

When the crew arrived, mother and baby were sat on the bathroom floor. Jade remembers it was a tight squeeze trying to fit everyone into the bathroom.

She added: “When they got here, I remember everyone being so reassuring as they knew how much I was panicking about the blood loss. The kept me as calm as possible and I knew we were in the best care.”

This was the fourth time paramedic Georgina had helped deliver a baby. She recalls: “I remember we got there and Jade’s husband was quite frantic trying to tidy everything up. On the way to the job, I was talking to my student about obstetric emergencies and what the plan would be in various scenarios but also reassuring her that most deliveries are normal and require minimal intervention.”

Jade and Sullivan were taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary by ambulance and stayed in hospital for two nights to recover.

Jade said: “I can’t fault the help we received from the ambulance service. They arrived at our home within 10 minutes of the 999 call being made and I’m so grateful they helped me through what was a traumatic but positive birth. They kept me calm and reassured me until we arrived at the hospital.”

On reuniting with Georgina, Jade said: “We were so excited to meet Georgina. It was so lovely to be able to thank her in person for everything she did to help not only me and our new baby, but the whole family. I want those that helped us to know that their amazing work doesn’t go unnoticed and we are so, so grateful.”

Georgina even helped deliver another baby on her shift the following day.

She said: “Reuniting with the family was lovely and it was fantastic to see everyone in much calmer circumstances. It was great to hear what a positive impact we made that day and that Jade felt she was in safe hands.”