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It certainly wasn’t the most comfortable shift of her life at the Fairfield General Hospital, but Becky Neill carried on right until the baby was ready to come out.

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The 28 year old Ward Nurse was set on helping out at the charity bake sale being hosted at the hospital and thought everything would be fine as she wasn’t due for another month. It wasn’t until half way through her activities that she began to feel a strange pain in her stomach, dismissive at first but still unsure of whether it was just Braxton Hicks or not; she phoned in for advice at North Manchester General, the hospital she had planned to deliver at.
After speaking with the triage nurse of that hospital, she was advised it would be best to head to their maternity unit as soon as possible which led the pregnant nurse to call her mum and ask for a lift.

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The timing wasn’t on her side however when Becky suddenly found herself stuck to the chair in the ward office after her contractions got faster by the minute. Her colleagues called for an ambulance but soon enough, the baby decided it was time to come out and Becky was on Ward 9 delivering. The Fairfield General Hospital had closed its maternity unit in 2012 and this resulted in her having to deliver in a ward for orthopaedic day patients.

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Sister Lynne Grundy came to the rescue as a makeshift midwife to ensure the baby was being delivered safely and as privately as possibly. Baby Oliver entered the world at 12.21pm on Friday, June 21st, and weighed in at 2lbs8oz.
This all took place in the span of about an hour since the initial stomach pain and Oliver was the first baby to be born at Fairfield hospital since 2012.

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There were two other midwives in the building whilst she was giving birth, they had been visiting from Bolton and were summoned upon to cut the umbilical cord and check to see if everything was alright. After some decision making, Becky and her baby were taken to A&E before having them moved to North Manchester General’s neonatal unit and spending 11 days in care until they were discharged.

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Described as a scene from ‘Carry on Nursing’ by the newly found mum, Becky looks back on the event with glee and joy as she is currently caring for her baby whilst on maternity leave.