Kathryn Robins gave birth to baby Madison on November 28 outside her home in the middle of the street. Jena Carr talks with the Wandana Heights mum and husband, Nick, as the family reunites with the paramedics who helped them.
A child’s birth can be an unexpected time, something Kathryn Robins knows well after giving birth to baby Madison in the middle of the street.
The Wandana Heights mum started having contractions at close to 6am on Tuesday, November 28, and then everything began to escalate at 7.30am.
“I got lots of pain and asked my husband to call the midwife. The midwife suggested that I either come to the hospital in your car or call an ambulance,” Kathryn said.
“I said, ‘Yeah, we can make it in the car.’ I took two steps and said to call the ambulance.
“I thought I had a lot of time because, with my first baby William, he took over 24 hours with the labour, so I just thought at 6am I had all the time in the world, but that didn’t really happen.
“My husband called the ambulance, and they arrived in about 12 minutes. They helped me through the house and tried to help me into the ambulance.
“I ended up walking down the driveway, they had a stretcher on the road and then I gave birth on a stretcher in the middle of the road.”
Kathryn said she remembered the beginning of the labour but that the rest was a “bit of a blur” after the paramedics gave her the green whistle (a pain relief drug).
“They (paramedics) were really calm and professional, and I felt really safe in their hands,” she said.
“If they hadn’t shown up on time, my husband would have had to deliver the baby, and he probably would have had a little bit of a freakout, but thankfully that didn’t happen.
“I got up on the stretcher, and I’ve been told that I apparently death-stared somebody and said, ‘I need to push’, and then I pushed, and someone said, ‘wow, the head is out’ and I went, ‘what?’.
“I’ve been told that there were people walking their dogs and a boy going to school, but he didn’t cross the road, so he would’ve got a lot more than he bargained for.
“My husband ended up directing traffic around the stretcher because it was school, work, and peak time, so there were a couple of people around.”
Kathryn’s husband, Nick Robins, said he didn’t have time to process his wife’s labour and that the family was “lucky”.
“I just closed up the house and by the time I got back out, she was in labour on the stretcher in the middle of the road,” he said.
“We had the ambulance with the lights on so everyone was driving slow in the area and because we were blocking up only one lane, I was just making sure the cars knew it was safe to go.”
Ambulance Victoria’s Jacob Morris and Tiana Robertson attended to Kathryn on the scene, which was the first time delivering a baby for both paramedics.
“I haven’t delivered a baby before, but I’ve been there pre-birth and after-birth of five or six… It’s probably something they won’t forget, and I don’t think I’ll forget it for a while,” Mr Morris said.
“It was clear that Kathryn was in labour. She informed us of some medical history, and we thought it would be best to get her out to the ambulance if we could.
“We could only get so far, and that’s when baby Madison decided to come. She was born out in front of their house.
“We just went into autopilot, followed our guidelines and made sure that both mum and the baby were safe.”
Madison was born close to 8.20am outside the Robins’ home, a day past her due date. Kathryn said her daughter was “hitting all of her milestones” and was “really healthy”.
“We ended up going straight to hospital (after labour) and went straight to the maternity ward at the University Hospital,” she said.
“We were in there for six hours. The midwife checked over her and checked over me, and we went home. There were no complications, and it was brilliant.
“She was one day late, but she is already a strong female character, and she definitely marches to the beat of her own drum. Even during my maternity appointments, she would do her own thing.
“I think every birthday, someone will mention something about a paramedic, an ambulance or being born in the middle of the road.”
Madison’s parents said she and her older brother William, 3, were getting along well but that he had realised he was no longer the centre of attention.
Kathryn said expecting mothers should monitor their condition and call their midwife or local hospital after the first contraction for preparation.
“As soon as you have that first twinge, pain, or contraction, call the midwife or the hospital and let them know that you will probably come in just to even be checked,” she said.
“They’re probably more than happy to check you there and then instead of waiting like I did.”
