Woman plans to name daughter after fireman who helped deliver baby in London street
- By: Matt Watts | Evening Standard
- Jun 8, 2015
- 2 min read
LONDON, ENGLAND - A woman who gave birth in a London street revealed today that she was considering naming her daughter after the “hero” fireman who delivered her.
Richlove Agyei, 38, was walking with her sister Antoinette Aniaku to a taxi office in Battersea on Monday morning to find a cab to take her to Chelsea and Westminster hospital, when she realised the baby was on her way.
'He was wonderful': Richlove Agyei, James Stennett and the baby he delivered
She fell to the pavement in pain, against a wall at the junction of Falcon Road and Este Road.
A fireman who had just finished his shift at Battersea fire station saw her and ran back to the station, returning with eight colleagues, including James Stennett, a former paramedic who delivered the 7lb 1oz baby 15 minutes later.
Firemen blocked the road with a fire engine and put up a tarpaulin for privacy and a passing retired midwife also gave assistance before paramedics took her to hospital.
Ms Agyei, originally from Ghana, said: “I was really worried because I had high blood pressure and I thought something might happen, but James was just wonderful and I stayed relaxed, considering everything.
“We were waiting for the ambulance, but I said, ‘I really need to push’ so he said do it and after a few more pushes my baby arrived.
“James is my hero and now I’m thinking of naming my daughter after him. I’m thinking about the name Jaime.
“I’m going to take her to meet all of the firefighters who helped.”
She is going to ask him if he would like to be the baby’s godfather and is also trying to trace the midwife to thank her properly.
Mr Stennett, who has now delivered six babies, said the sisters thought the baby might not be breathing. He said: “I started to rub her back to stimulate her and help her to breathe and then she started crying.
She was given a little bit of oxygen then we put her on mum’s tummy.” He said it was one of the “easiest” births because “everyone worked together”.
Miss Agyei, a mother of three, said: “Its been an amazing start to her life. I can’t believe how lucky I was that the passers-by were a former paramedic and a midwife. I was in good hands.”
Source: Standard.co.uk
By: Matt Watts
