A West Yorkshire grandmother has been hailed a hero after twice resuscitating her newborn granddaughter during her daughter's premature home birth, reports
Joanne Dolan, 53, had to deliver baby Niamh by herself after her daughter Katie Dolan, 24, went into labour unexpectedly – after just 24 weeks and five days of pregnancy.
And her fight for survival was helped by gran Joanne, who twice performed mouth-to-mouth to save her life.
The youngster, born breech and weighing just 1.5lb, has since been described as a medical miracle by stunned doctors.
Joanne said: “I didn't have any time to think, I was terrified, but just acted as quickly as I could.
“I was anxious and unsure if I had done it properly, but was on the phone to 999 and they explained how to do the CPR.”
Katie, a recruitment consultant from Heckmondwike, only became aware of her pregnancy after 19 weeks.
After 22 weeks, she was then in and out of hospital with heavy bleeding
Katie said: “The bleeding kept starting and stopping, and I was being transferred around lots of different hospitals – it was scary and I had no idea what was going on.”
On November 24, Katie was finally able to return home from hospital and her mum stayed with her.
Katie said: “I woke up at midnight with an urge to go to the toilet. Then I started getting really strong contractions, and I remember shouting and calling for my mum.
“She immediately called the ambulance and they stayed on the phone with us while my mum had to deliver Niamh.
“Within 15 minutes, Niamh had been delivered and was born breech. My mum had to resuscitate Niamh twice.
“I honestly don't even remember much, I was in so much shock.”
Joanne, whose rapid response saved Niamh's life, said: “The whole thing was so scary, but I knew I had to do something.”
After Niamh was born, two ambulances arrived and took the family to Pinderfields Hospital.
There the neonatal staff had to come down to the ambulance and “do all sorts to try and get Niamh breathing”, Katie said.
She added: “My mum and I had to wait for five hours in the waiting room to see if Niamh was OK or not.
“The staff managed to get her stable. It was absolutely terrifying. They then said that Niamh would need to be transferred to a specialist hospital in Sheffield, but that she was quite poorly and did not know if she was going to make the journey.
“I wasn't even allowed to go to Sheffield with her because you can't travel 24 hours after giving birth – I was in so much pain and shock.”
Katie then went home “exhausted” with her mum, and waited for a phone call which then confirmed Niamh had made it to the hospital and had arrived safely and stable.
The baby is now 10 weeks old on high flow oxygen therapy, and is still some time from coming home.
Katie said: “I haven't been able to hold Niamh as she's been on a ventilator and is being fed through a tube.
“She is now 3.7lb and needs to put more weight on before she can come home to us.
“It's crazy – the medical staff called her a ‘medical miracle baby’ as they had never seen a baby born this early at home and survived.”
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