A Millfield couple have been praised by emergency services for their remarkable calmness during a roadside birth last week near Cessnock.
Parents Aimie and Jarrad Earl were on their way to Maitland Hospital about 4pm on Tuesday, April 10 when their baby decided it was ready to arrive.
With Mr Earl driving his “brand-new” Mitsubishi Triton and his wife in the passenger seat when she began to feel the baby was on its way, the couple were left with no other option but to pull over onto the side of Old Maitland Road and begin the birth in the utility.
A hasty call to Triple Zero allowed call-taker Kylie Crebert to provide essential advice and support to the couple as they began to welcome their second child into the world.
“You could tell they were apprehensive,” Ms Crebert said.
“They were worried, but they followed every instruction. That’s all I can ask, that they listen to me.”
It took just 11 minutes from the start of the phone call for the baby to be in its father’s hands.
“I ran around [the vehicle] and sort of didn’t know what to do,” Mr Earl recalled.
In audio of the emergency call released by NSW Ambulance, Mr Earl can be heard seeking advice from Ms Crebert while helping his wife.
After a short duration of the operator telling Mrs Earl to push, the 29-year-old mum shouts: “She’s out!”.
There was initial concern the baby wasn’t crying, but it was short lived, as a little girl – Ivy – began to make noise.
Mrs Earl said she “wouldn’t have been able to do it” without the advice.
“It was a bit emotional at first because I couldn’t hear her cry, but as soon as Jarrad patted her on the back and she started crying and I knew everything was OK, I was perfectly fine.”
Ms Crebert and the Earls were reunited on Tuesday at the family’s home, a week after the birth. The couple expressed their gratitude for her assistance in what will be an unlikely life-long link.
In a 16-year career, Ms Crebert has talked people through six births, but never had the opportunity to meet the parents.
“You could tell they were scared and worried, but they did beautifully,” she said.
Paramedic Stephen Deppeler, who responded to the call, said he “amazed” by the pair’s calm nature.
“We thought we weren’t going to get there in time and then it come through that the baby had been born,” he said.
“The parents were great; so relaxed on the scene.”
Mr Deppeler suggested it was perhaps the windy nature of Old Maitland Road which brought the baby on.
“There’s actually 21 bends,” he said. “It’s the quickest route to Maitland Hospital. If you want a baby delivered, it will be 21 bends.”
