Maternity award for swift actions to safely deliver breech baby

Crews from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) received an award at the UK Maternity Unit Marvels (MUM) Awards for the exemplary response provided to a mother experiencing a complex birth at home.

A judging panel – which included Chief Nursing Officer for Britain Dame Ruth May and renowned maternity safety expert Donna Ockenden – presented the community award for the swift action and decision making which helped deliver a positive outcome for both mother and baby.

The award recognised the response to a 999 call from a woman who was unaware she was pregnant until presented with the baby being born feet first – known as a breech birth – which has higher rates of complications.

The panel highlighted the quick escalation for critical care support of the two ambulance crews who arrived on scene when it was clear the birth was not progressing. The sequence of events that followed ensured mother and baby received specialist care promptly.

EEAST’s critical care desk dispatched Essex and Herts Air Ambulance to the scene and an agreement was reached between the teams to meet at a rendezvous point en route to hospital, so the woman could be seen quicker by the critical care team.

The maternity unit was also alerted and a community midwife arranged to meet the crews at the rendezvous point.

Once at the rendezvous point, the team helped free the baby’s other foot and rotated the baby’s hips to aid the descent.

Just 48 minutes after the initial 999 call, the baby was delivered in the ambulance at the side of a road and was given ventilatory support until the baby was breathing on its own.

Mother and baby were then transported to the nearest neonatal intensive care unit, with the baby’s temperature maintained using a heated gel in a Transwarmer ® Mattress and a hat applied.

Daimon Wheddon, clinical lead for maternity services at EEAST, said:

“This example of exemplary care has rightly been held up and shared as best practice for dealing with a complex birth in the community.

“The teamwork, quick escalation and decision making ensured that the mother and baby got specialist support as quickly as possible which led to the good outcome.”

 Dr Graham Pluck, a pre-hospital care doctor at Essex and Herts Air Ambulance said:

“On arrival we were reassured to find a well-coordinated and expertly managed scene by the EEAST crews who had arrived first. We were also very grateful for specialist support by phone from the maternity unit for advanced techniques in delivering an obstructed footling breech baby.

“Subsequent post-partum care and neonatal resuscitation was a whole team effort from everyone on scene and we were very happy we could contribute to a good outcome for the baby and mother.”

The award ceremony, which is organised by the UK’s leading maternity safety charity, Baby Lifeline, was held at The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London on Thursday 5^th October and hosted by television presenter Nick Owen.

The previous day a private reception was held at Downing Street for those nominated where EEAST was represented by Medical Director, Dr Simon Walsh. 

Picture caption:

From left to right: TV presenter Nick Owen, Dr Graham Pluck and Ben Finbow from Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, and from East of England Ambulance Service, Thomas Knights and Sarah Ross