Published: Wednesday, 30th June, 2010 2:30pm

Dad delivers baby at home

Print | Email

A dad had to deliver his own baby daughter when his partner went into labour at home.

Robert Manderson and Charlene Nicol, both 27, welcomed their little girl Jessica into the world last Tuesday.

The Dalmuir couple had visited the Vale of Leven Hospital that morning but were told to go home as it was not thought she was close to labour.

But almost as soon as she arrived back at their flat, Charlene realised that her baby was coming, ready or not.

Charlene said: "I managed to get up the stairs and when I lay down the contractions started to get really strong.

"I said to Rab 'you need to phone my mum because the baby is going to come now'.

"He phoned her but then I started to feel like I needed to push.

"Then Rab phoned his mum because she lives closer.

"I had two or three pushes and then Rab said 'I can see a head'.

"I said to him, 'when I say push you pull'."

Robert continued: "When I saw the head it looked so purple I thought there was something wrong.

"I was so concerned that I didn't even realise at first whether it was a boy or a girl.

"It was a shock to the system that I had to do that.

"I was quite emotional."

Thankfully little Jessica was just fine and Charlene held on to her until paramedics arrived to cut the umbilical cord.

Ambulance staff and relatives praised Robert for his quick thinking, although he has remained modest.

He said: "It was quite cool that I got to do that.

"Everybody kept saying what a good job I did, but really it was Charlene that did all the work."