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ABC News
Health
Sally Rafferty

Richmond hospital welcomes first baby in 15 years with help from flying doctors

Jess Harvey's partner Sam Mcgrath drove more than 200km to arrive in time for Darby's birth. (Supplied)

With a population of just 648, the remote north-west Queensland town of Richmond doesn't offer maternity services so it was a shock for the on-call doctor when Jess Harvey arrived.

"The doctor checked my cervix and said I was 8 centimetres dilated and could feel the head," Ms Harvey said.

"After he checked my cervix, he passed out cold in the hallway of the hospital."

Reinforcements were called in from the Royal Flying Doctor Service after it was clear baby Darby wasn't waiting for anyone.

He became the first baby to be born in the town's hospital in 15 years.

Baby Darby Mcgrath spent a week and a half in Townsville's special care unit after he was born five weeks premature. (Supplied: Jess Harvey)

Royal Flying Doctor Service emergency doctor Shima Ghedia said the hospital staff looked relieved when she arrived.

But she said it was also a new experience for the medical air service.

"I haven't delivered a baby in my role as an emergency specialist, ever," Dr Ghedia said.

"The last time I was in a delivery room was when my daughter was born.

"I was quite nervous about it, somehow the knowledge just came back to me."

Best laid plans

Ms Harvey was just days away from completing the 1,460km round trip to Townsville to spend the final month of her pregnancy near adequate health care.

That was until she started having contractions about 3:00am.

Shima Ghedia said the birth was her first emergency delivery. (Supplied: Royal Flying Doctor Service)

With her partner Sam Mcgrath hundreds of kilometres away at a mustering camp, Ms Harvey said she was initially in denial about what was happening.

"I just thought it was really bad cramping and I wasn't sure why," she said.

Ms Harvey ran across the compound and woke the station cook Danielle Riley.

"She immediately got up and jumped into action, helped me fuel up the ute, and drove me into town," Ms Harvey said.

They arrived in Richmond as the sun was rising. 

Ms Harvey finally managed to get hold of her partner, Sam, on the phone to tell him the news.

He made it into town in record time and was there just in time for Darby's arrival, just before 11:30am on April 30.

Jess Harvey was flown to Townsville after giving birth in the outback town of Richmond. (Supplied: Jess Harvey)

The birth prompted a wave of excitement through the hospital, with staff working well beyond their shift time to see the first arrival in a decade-and-a-half.

Ms Harvey and baby Darby were then flown to Townsville's special care unit.

Darby made quite the entrance back home a week-and-a-half later after the area endured flooding rains.

"We got picked up at a flood crossing that we couldn't cross and we got a helicopter ride right back to the station," Ms Harvey said.

Baby Darby Mcgrath is settling into life on the station with his parents Sam Mcgrath and Jess Harvey. (Supplied: Jess Harvey)

The tyranny of distance

Ms Harvey said being pregnant in a remote area had presented challenges.

Routine checks during the pregnancy became a major logistical exercise.

"I am two-and-a-half hours from one town and two hours from the other that have any medical services," Ms Harvey said.

She said she would travel two-and-a-half hours to Julia Creek to meet her midwife who had travelled 250km from Mt Isa.

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