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L-R: Noni Catrina and new mum Nikita with baby Malakai meet Senior Call Taker Phoebe

Weeks before Malakai’s early arrival, Catrina happily agreed to be her daughter Nikita’s birthing partner – never imagining the experience they’d go through!

Being pregnant for the first time, Nikita said she had been told to prepare for the birth to be late as that’s often the case for first-time mums. So, when Nikita woke Catrina and her dad Grayson because of the intense pain she was suddenly in, being only 38 weeks pregnant, no one, not even Nikita, expected that she could be in labour.

In fact, Catrina thought perhaps Nikita was being just a bit over-dramatic because it was late and perhaps, she was tired after a busy day. To add to that, Nikita had been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions in the previous weeks.

A quick check in call to the on-call midwife reassured everyone and Nikita tried going back to bed. But the intense pain got worse and more frequent, so Nikita checked the timing of the gaps between the pain.

The reality set in that she was in labour. 

Calling 111 for critical support and help

Catrina and Grayson urgently tried to get Nikita in the car, but Nikita flatly refused. As she explains, “My biggest fear was giving birth in the car on the way to the hospital. I simply would not get in the car.”

Nikita took herself to the shower seeking relief from the contractions, the warm showerhead on her back was making a difference. After all, she was expecting this to go on for many hours…

But things quickly escalated so Grayson immediately called the midwife while Catrina called 111. Her call was answered by Wellington Free Ambulance, where Senior Call Taker Phoebe was at the end of the phone at 3.04am.

Thanks to being highly trained, Phoebe asked questions to quickly establish the situation and arrange for an ambulance to be on its way. In the meantime, Nikita’s baby was not prepared to wait.

"I need you to stay on the line and I will tell you exactly what to do next. I need you to listen carefully and do exactly as I say” were Phoebe’s instructions to Catrina. “I’m going to tell you how to help deliver the baby.”

Nikita said, “I’m quite stubborn and I really wanted to give birth in the shower but I heard Phoebe say, ‘she needs to get on the floor, it’s the safest option’ and at that point I realised this baby is coming now. I need to get on the floor right now! It was Phoebe’s calm, firm and confident voice that made the difference. I needed to be told what to do and I wanted to do exactly as she said and keep my baby safe.”

Swinging into action

Phoebe said to Catrina “you are going to deliver this baby” but Catrina still didn’t believe she was about to deliver her grandson. But with Phoebe’s persistent, calm, and firm instructions the family jumped into action.

“I want you to get some dry towels and a clean blanket to wrap the baby in. Stay right with her and I need you to keep telling me what is happening. Can you see any part of the baby?”, Phoebe asked.

"Yep, oh my goodness” exclaimed Catrina, “I can see the head, there’s the baby!”

The baby’s head appeared quickly. Phoebe promptly interjected her next critical advice: “Support the baby’s head and shoulders and remember that the baby will be slippery so don’t drop it!”

In just three pushes little Malakai was born.

Phoebe stayed on the phone, managing the situation carefully and ensuring mum and baby were kept safe until minutes later when the midwife and Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics arrived and could take over.

Now as baby Malakai prepares to celebrate his first Christmas, new mum Nikita reflects on her experience:

"One thing that really stood out for me after this experience is that many of my friends and family don’t live in Wellington and don’t have access to a free ambulance service like we all do and it made me think, if you were a family who couldn’t afford to call for help, would you be forced to face an emergency on your own?”

"Having Phoebe and Wellington Free Ambulance there for me and mum and dad made all the difference, it was the difference in making sure Malakai was born safely. We love him so much and we are all so grateful.”

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