A Cape Town mom has named her newborn after a Melkbosstrand police officer who helped her give birth on a sleeper couch at the police station while she was waiting for an ambulance.
On Monday, Sergeant Debi Alard, an ardent fan of hospital drama Grey’s Anatomy, said she channelled her inner midwife last week when she and a local paramedic assisted the pregnant woman when she went into labour.
Alard had collected the woman from the nearby Varkplaas informal settlement on Thursday after a resident phoned the police station to report that the mom-to-be was experiencing pain.
The officer went to collect the patient to make it easier for paramedics to find and transport her to hospital.
After making the woman comfortable in the victim support room, she heard her screams becoming more intense and phoned local paramedics.
“I knew something was happening but never thought that by the end of my shift I would deliver a baby,” Alard told News24.
The officer, joined by a paramedic, monitored the woman who said she was feeling the inescapable urge to push.
“I phoned the ambulance services again who said the woman was on their list, although they couldn’t say when they would arrive. We realised we had to get ready because this baby wasn’t going to wait on the professionals to arrive.”
Unfolding the sleeper couch into a double bed, the two turned the counselling room into a makeshift labour ward, finding clothes, outfits and baby blankets, which was donated for crime victims, for the infant’s arrival.
“Then I saw her water break. The medic told me she couldn’t do it alone and I had to help. So, I jumped in.”
Dione Debbie Lucas gets a kiss from Sergeant Debi Alard. (Supplied)
During the birth, Alard felt that the “mommy was getting tired” and did not have the energy to keep pushing.
“The little one’s head was out so I pressed on her abdomen to help get the baby into the world. Soon, the shoulders came out and she could breathe.”
Holding the infant in her arms after the umbilical cord had been cut and cleaning her were incredible experiences, Alard said.
“When she cried, I knew everything was okay. I counted her fingers and toes – all were there. Mommy was fine, smiling and all over her beautiful baby. All was well.”
By the time the ambulance arrived, both were ready to be transported to hospital.
“It was an experience. Luckily, I watch Grey’s Anatomy, so I know a little bit about these things, but this was live. It happened quickly, just over an hour like a normal episode,” she joked.
The new mom named the infant Dione Debbie Lucas.
“I’m so proud that they gave her my name. She is my little namesake. She is beautiful, healthy and weighs 3.7kg,” Alard said proudly.
The two “midwives” has since visited the little one at home, bearing gifts of clothes and baby essentials.
Alard, who is a mom of two, said helping deliver Dione was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“If I had to, I would do it again. I had a good partner and on-the-job training. But please don’t put me under that kind of pressure again anytime soon – I’m still scared after everything I had seen,” she joked.
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