Dad praises A&E after wife almost gives birth in their car

Phil Bessant, from Ecclesfield, has praised the care his wife received at the Northern General Hospital and Jessop Wing after his wife, Kathryn, went into quick labour in the back of their car.

Kathryn began displaying signs of labour on the morning of 30th July 2022. Husband Phil said:

“I rang the Jessop Wing in the morning and they advised us to make our way to the hospital as it sounded like Kathryn was going in to labour.”

“Kathryn’s mum came over to look after our other son, Evan, who is three years old, and we packed our bags and began driving to the Jessop Wing. Within 10 minutes it became apparent that the labour was happening a lot quicker than expected.”

Phil and Kathryn were driving past the Northern General Hospital when Kathryn started feeling the urge to push.

“I drove straight towards the A&E Department at the Northern General and there was just enough time for Kathryn to dive on to a trolley and we were wheeled straight through to Resus where they had an empty bay.”

Within six minutes Kathryn had given birth to baby boy, Joseph, in the A&E Department.

“I know that they don’t get many births in the A&E Department, but everything was perfect. There were loads of staff around with plenty of warm towels on hand and the medical team were all great in keeping us informed about what was happening. We are also especially thankful to Dr Dan Bradbury, the Registrar in the A&E Department, who cared for Kathryn and delivered the baby.

“Once Joseph was born and everybody was happy with how they were both doing, the consultant made a phone call to the Jessop Wing so that we could get transferred to the maternity unit.”

An ambulance took Kathryn directly to the Jessop Wing where she was checked over again by the Midwifery team.

“Everything was really straight forward from there. The midwives at the Jessop Wing told us to take our time, have a shower and gave us some tea and toast. The whole birth took place in about two hours, so it was rather a shock but we could not have asked for better care.”

By 10am, Kathryn, Phil and baby Joseph were all back home with their other son Evan, and the family are all doing well.

“I’m eternally grateful to all the staff in A&E and Jessop Wing for caring for my wife and delivering our new son safely and to Joe and his team at Yorkshire Ambulance for their assistance. I am incredibly grateful for the wonderful NHS care we received and I am also very grateful that I didn’t have to deliver our baby in the back of the car!”