Dad shares how he delivered his baby on living room carpet
A new dad has revealed how he had to deliver his baby on the living room carpet after his partner suddenly went into labour.
On October 4 last year Mitchell Lewis, 58, a senior mental health practitioner from London had just finished a shift at work in his study and came in to find his partner, Inessa Amber, 42, who was 39 weeks pregnant, in established labour.
The mum-of-two had brushed off her contractions throughout the day as she continued to complete housework and look after their two-year-old.
But when Lewis noticed Amber "couldn't walk" he decided to call the emergency services.
The call handler was quick to ascertain that the couple's baby's arrival was imminent and talked the dad-to-be through how to help.
Thankfully, a paramedic arrived at the house just in time to catch the newborn as Amber stood up to push.
Their daughter, Elyanna Lewis, who is now 3-months-old, was born at 7.45am, weighing 8lbs 1oz.
"I'm used to handling stressful situations, but this was terrifying," Lewis says of the moment he realised his daughter was on her way.
"I went into crisis mode and grabbed as many towels as possible.
"When the paramedic arrived, he pulled out a manual for delivery babies.
"I knew I had to take things into my own hands.
"Luckily, he was just in time to catch our baby girl."
Having found out the couple were expecting their second child, Amber's pregnancy continued with no real complications, but on that morning she started to experience cramps from about 8am.
As the day progressed, Amber continued to clean, cook for her daughter, Ayanna, two, all while the intense cramping continued.
"It didn't feel it was time," Amber, a full-time mum, originally from Ukraine, explains.
"Mitchell works an intense job, so I didn't want to make his day more stressful.
"I thought they could be fake contractions.
"I didn't want to make a fuss over nothing."
At around 6pm, Amber's contractions worsened and she was struggling to even walk between the kitchen and living room.
Lewis tried to hire a cab but nothing was available and friends and family were not in the area to help out.
"I tried everything to make it work," he says.
"My only option was to call the emergency services for advice."
After calling 999, the handler asked Lewis to count contractions, which were just three minutes apart.
"They said they'd send an ambulance but that I'd most likely be doing the delivery," Lewis continues.
"I was in pure shock.
"I just kept thinking, I've never done this before!
"I was told to grab towels and the handler started giving me instructions."
When the paramedic arrived 10 minutes later, the baby's head was already crowning.
Amber adds: "I knew I just had to keep pushing.
"My partner was incredibly calm in a very intense situation."
The fact that Amber had considered having a home birth, helped keep her feeling relaxed.
"I wasn't scared, it was fairly easy.
"As it was my second pregnancy, I never really felt anxious," she adds.
Minutes after the birth two more paramedics arrived and Amber and her newborn were taken to Saint Mary's Hospital, Westminster, London, as their two-year-old and Mitchell waited at home.
The next morning, the family were all reunited at home.
"I never thought I'd deliver my girlfriend's baby," Lewis adds.
"It was a high-stress situation, but I knew I had to do everything in my power to help.
"Now we have a beautiful baby girl.
"I hope if there's a next time, I can clock off a few hours early," he adds.
Additional reporting SWNS.
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