Angharad Woolley gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Esmae, in her living room in the middle of the night with the help of her husband Paul.
The 41-year-old, hailed as ‘supermum’ by her proud husband, ʟᴀʙᴏʀᴇᴅ for just over two hours before giving birth to 7lb and 8oz Esmae, 18 minutes before an ᴀᴍʙᴜʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴡ arrived.
Amgharad was ᴏᴠᴇʀᴅᴜᴇ at 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant and had been waiting for a call from her local NHS hospital, the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire, to take her in for an ɪɴᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. But she claims they were unable to get an ɪɴᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ as they were told that the ᴍᴀᴛᴇʀɴɪᴛʏ ᴡᴀʀᴅ was full and there were no beds to ᴀᴄᴄᴏᴍᴍᴏᴅᴀᴛᴇ her.
Angharad, from Cowplain, around five miles from QA Hospital, started having ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs at home at 2.37am, having ᴡᴏᴋᴇɴ ᴜᴘ thinking she needed the toilet. She said, “I was sᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ. We couldn’t get an ɪɴᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. We were waiting another week until 42 weeks. We had to wait until she came along naturally.”
Her husband called the NHS Lᴀʙᴏᴜʀ Lɪɴᴇ, who asked them to go to the hospital, but by the time Angharad reached the car, she could already feel the ʙᴀʙʏ ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ. She said, “I thought the baby was going to arrive and ꜰᴀʟʟ ᴏɴ the ᴄᴏɴᴄʀᴇᴛᴇ ᴏᴜᴛsɪᴅᴇ as we were getting in the car. I came straight back in.”
During the ‘ʀᴀʀᴇ’ home birth, a midwife spoke to Paul’s mother, Judith, who was also in the living room, in what is called an ‘unassisted birth on arrival’. While Paul was on the phone with the midwife, he saw baby Esmae’s ʜᴇᴀᴅ ‘ᴘᴏᴘ ᴏᴜᴛ’. He said, “[Esmae] sᴏʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴇʟʟ ɪɴᴛᴏ my hands onto the pillow. My mom ᴅᴏᴠᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ and tried to grab her and give her to Aggie.”
When the ᴀᴍʙᴜʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴡ arrived 18 minutes later, they were in ‘disbelief’ that the baby had already been ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ, and midwives at QA Hospital were also sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ.
Angharad, who already had a two-year-old son named Max with her husband, added, “I was so ʀᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇᴅ. I just wanted her out and breathing because, as you get older, you read things about the ʀɪsᴋs. I knew in my head that I had to do what I had to do to get this little person out sᴀꜰᴇʟʏ.”
