Baby Skye’s speedy arrival

One year ago, Grovedale mum, Bri Telford was feeling prepared for the arrival of her second baby with her birth plan in place, but little did she know baby Skye would make a dramatic arrival that would throw all plans out the window.

Early in the morning on 24 May 2024, Bri called her midwife, Kate from Barwon Health Midwifery Group Practice after experiencing what felt like regular contractions at 39 weeks.

After timing the contractions, Kate and Bri agreed it was still early stages of labour and there was time for it to progress at home before the expectant mum needed to travel to the hospital.

However, 30 minutes after hanging up the phone things progressed faster than anyone expected, and Bri felt the urge to push. Her baby girl was on the way.

“I called my midwife, who after assessing me over the phone, said we wouldn’t be able to make it to hospital and that we needed to call Triple Zero (000) because this baby was coming,” Bri said.

“My first baby, Violet, was induced and a 36-hour labour. People tell you the second one will be quicker, but I never expected anything like this.”

Within minutes, Ambulance Victoria Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedics Jordan and Guy were on scene assisting to deliver Bri’s baby alongside Kate and partner Dion.

“It all happened so fast and was so unexpected. Two hours after getting out of bed, I was holding my baby girl in my arms,” Bri said.

“Both Guy and Jordan were instrumental in the success of Skye’s delivery. They were calm and made sure both Skye and I were healthy and safe.

“Equally important was my partner, Dion, who remained calm and composed despite the stressful circumstances, stepping in to assist the team with whatever they needed. I’m incredibly proud of him.

“I was very fortunate to have the right people there when I needed them most.”

Now an energetic one year old, Skye was recently reintroduced to the midwife and first responders who helped bring her into the world, alongside her family.

Skye is just one of the babies MICA paramedic Guy Hampshire has delivered throughout his career, but he said each is memorable.

“It’s so special to be there in the first seconds of someone’s life. It’s a pretty intimate thing to be part of someone’s family becoming bigger and more complete,” he said.

“When you’re headed to an imminent delivery it can be stressful because it’s not something we deal with regularly and clinically we plan for the worst but hope for the best.

“For me, I’m always very cognisant of the fact that there’s two patients instead of one and if things do go poorly you’ve got one paramedic and set of hands per patient.

“Luckily, Skye’s delivery went smoothly and we were helped significantly by the midwife. The Geelong midwifery team are fantastic at what they do and work collaboratively with us to provide the best care to both mum and baby.”

For Bri, the experience and the people who guided her through it will never be forgotten.

“Even though I only knew the paramedics for two hours, I’ll remember them for life,” she said.

“Every year on Skye’s birthday, I’ll be reminded of the incredible care they provided, making the safe arrival of our beautiful daughter possible.”