Born on the side of the road and wrapped in a surfboard cover, baby Andy Paul will have a story to tell when she is older.
Mums Sam and Liz Paul planned to give birth at Belmont Birthing Centre like they did with their first child two years ago. But on the night of August 26, four-day overdue Andy had other plans.
The couple began the hour-long drive from their Nelson Bay home to Lake Macquarie. Just 500 metres into the drive, Sam's waters broke. In another 20 minutes, she needed to push.
"Sam [was] in the midst of a contraction about to have a baby and she had the thought to not drive any further up the road. [We] pulled into Macca's [at Williamtown]," Liz said.
The women met through Fire and Rescue NSW: Sam joined in 2011 and works in the communications centre and Liz, who joined in 2013, is a senior firefighter. Like in any emergency, their training kicked in.
"We get calls all the time where a landmark is much better to have," Liz said. "I just can't believe that in that moment, [Sam's] natural reaction was to think of that."
"It came pretty naturally, surprisingly. I guess dealing with emergency situations quite regularly [does that]. It happened and we just had to control it as best as we could," Sam said of birthing Andy.
They called midwife Jane Minnis around 9:15pm, jumped in the back of their van and, within minutes, Andy was born - pink, crying and 3.8 kilograms.
"We didn't have any towels or anything so we grabbed Sam's surfboard cover," Liz said. "I jumped out to get [it] and I had blood all over me.
"There was a lady very concerned about what was happening in the back of the van," she said. "I said: 'We just had a baby'. I don't think she believed me."
With no ambulances in the area, Liz and Sam had about 10 minutes in the back of the van as a three before being taken to hospital for health checks.
"We were both kind of happy the ambulance didn't make it because there was only room for one person in the back of the van," Sam said.
Jane and fellow midwife Janene Gageler, who was the couple's main contact through the pregnancy, said Fire and Rescue training had made an immense difference in the safe delivery of Andy.
"They did brilliantly - brilliantly. They were fabulous," Jane said. "I knew once I could hear the baby crying, everything was ok."
"We turn up to quite stressful situations regularly where you need to remain calm and deliver a positive outcome," Liz said. "That definitely came into play."
Liz praised Sam's calm attitude.
"Sam is like a one in a million kind of person. She didn't even really stress out. She was so strong," Liz said.
"Words can't describe the love," Sam said of her wife.
About one baby in every 250 arrives in under three hours in Australia. In 2021, 902 women state-wide gave birth unintentionally at home or before arrival at a hospital, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
"If this happens, try and stay calm, put yourself in a safe place like these guys did. Call for assistance if needed, so you can be found if needed," Jane said. "Generally, the baby will be fine."
