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Reading 3 min.
in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
On the night of September 4 to 5, in Lot-et-Garonne, a mother did not have time to reach the hospital to give birth to her third child. An unusual birth which fortunately ended well. How to react when baby doesn’t give you time to breathe? Dr. Kierzek responds.
It wasn’t the birth she had imagined, though. According to information from the Republican Lot-et-Garonne, at the beginning of September a mother, helped by her partner, gave birth to her third child in the parking lot… of the hospital.
A couple accustomed to unusual births
Having contractions during the night of Wednesday September 4 to Thursday September 5, Léa left with her partner Florian towards Marmande hospital for the birth of their third child. But the latter proved too impatient, and the young woman had no choice but to give birth in the building’s parking lot, fortunately helped by her partner. An unusual situation, although known to the couple of parents. Léa never gave birth in a room: always in a hurry, her first son was born in the hospital corridor, as for their 4-year-old daughter, it was on the side of the highway (on the road to a hospital, again) that she uttered her first cry.
The dad, who fortunately is a volunteer firefighter, had to intervene several times to help his wife (herself an auxiliary childcare worker). Far from being frightened, he says he is lucky to benefit from his training as a volunteer firefighter and is proud to have participated in these unexpected births.
“The fact of having given birth myself strengthens our bonds” believes Florian, proud of his little family who is doing perfectly well today.
In general, fortunately, pregnant women have enough time to get to the maternity ward to give birth in good conditions.
As a reminder, you must go to the hospital quickly if your water breaks. In the event of contractions, on the other hand, there is no emergency: wait until you feel regular contractions every ten minutes before heading to the maternity ward. In any case, do not go there on foot, even if you are close to the establishment.
But sometimes, baby can indeed be in a hurry and point his nose without preamble. In this case, our emergency physician, Dr. Gérald Kierzek, reminds us of the procedure to follow.
“Keep calm and call for help.”
- Immediately dial 15 (SAMU) or 112 (European emergency number).
- Clearly explain your situation and your exact location.
- Carefully follow the instructions given by the regulating doctor.
“Prepare yourself for a possible birth”
- Sit in a clean, comfortable place, indoors if possible.
- Wash your hands thoroughly if you can.
- Prepare clean towels or sheets.
- Remove your bottom clothes.
During work
- Breathe calmly and deeply between contractions.
- Don’t push until you feel the overwhelming need to do so.
- If you feel the baby’s head, don’t push it away.
If childbirth is imminent
- Let the baby come out naturally, without pulling.
- Once born, place the baby on your stomach, skin to skin.
- Dry the baby gently and cover him to keep him warm.
- Do not cut the umbilical cord, wait for help to arrive.
After birth
- Make sure the baby is breathing well. If he doesn’t cry, rub his back gently.
- Wait for the placenta to be delivered without pulling on the cord.
- Keep the placenta to show to emergency services.
Stay calm as much as possible
“Remember that emergency teams are trained to handle this type of situation and will guide you by telephone until they arrive. The main thing is to remain as calm as possible and follow their instructions,” advises our expert.
Finally, to avoid seeing these cases multiply, perhaps it is time to recall a fact:
“Message to the new Minister of Health: stop closing local maternity wards. Small maternity wards with insufficient activity have already been closed and it is becoming more dangerous to give birth in a parking lot, in a car or even in an ambulance than in a maternity ward!”
Slide: Childbirth: true-false on the signs announcing the start of labor