A woman gave birth on in incredible circumstances – on the street outside her home in South London.
Martina Janes, 36, and her husband Marco De Carli, 37, were expecting their second child on Friday (August 20), but an unexpected rapid birth meant the baby was born as they waited for an Uber to arrive outside their home in Elephant and Castle.
Marco said: “Giacomo [the couples’ first born] is two years old and to deliver him it took about 10 hours of labour.
“We had been told that the brother could have been faster, but we didn’t expect that much.”
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Baby Davide was born happy and healthy outside the couple’s home
Martina was expecting to give birth on Sunday (August 22), when the hospital planned to induce her.
She had been having low-level contractions since the Monday of that week, and was comfortably making note of the time between each contraction at home on Friday (August 20).
Whilst Marco was out picking up Giacomo from nursery ‘with no particular rush’, he got an unexpected call from Martina.
“She was in pain and asked me to book an Uber, which I immediately did,” he added.
But seeing the Uber app was taking a few minutes, he ran all the way home with his two-year-old son.
Marco found Martina at home in a very different state to how he left her.
“Everybody was laughing and crying”: Marco said he ‘couldn’t describe the relief’ hearing his baby cry
“Her contractions rapidly escalated and she felt the baby’s head was already there, ready to exit,” he explained.
Marco ordered an Uber for the two to get to hospital, but it never arrived – the couple suspect it picked up the wrong passengers, as Marco spotted three girls jump in one across the road.
Then something incredible happened.
“That was the moment the kindest stranger ever arrived,” Marco said.
This stranger helped Martina to lie down and be as comfortable as possible, whilst Marco called for an ambulance, and hailed down a passing police car.
In an incredible scene, their building’s caretakers, local police officers, and a kind stranger surrounded Martina, laying down their jackets for her to lie on and holding up blankets to shield her.
Martina said: “They happened to be there just at the right time. I feel incredibly lucky.”
“It was at the same time the scariest and most wonderful experience I’ve ever had.”
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With two big pushes, the baby was born at 5.55pm. One of the police officers even used the string of her Covid mask to clamp the baby’s cord.
Marco says: “I cannot describe the relief of hearing him cry. It was the sign he was breathing and everything went well.
“They placed him on my wife’s breast and he started to try and feed immediately. Everybody was laughing and crying.”
The healthy baby boy has been named Davide.
Ever since the happy couple have been calling the kind strangers and policemen from the community their ‘delivery angels’.
Martina said: “Their kindness made me so comfortable that I couldn’t feel any fear. I honestly have no words to thank them enough.
“My family and I will remember them forever!”
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https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/south-london-woman-gives-birth-21373734
