Celebrating the miracle of a new life

“Being a paramedic is hard and also sometimes sad, but sometimes miracles happen, which highlight why you became a paramedic in the first place.”

Chantal Peel, a paramedic from National Paramedical Services, has been in the industry for 21 years and has dealt with many traumas, but on November 11 she was called out to assist with an incident in Albermarle where a woman gave birth in a flat.

DA ward councillor Jean Ingram requested assistance as she wanted a paramedic to check out the woman and baby to make sure everything was fine and to clamp the umbilical cord.

“Our days are filled with chaos and distress yet now and then we get to celebrate the miracle of a new life,” she said.

Chantal’s side

All of the ambulances of National Paramedical Services were out on the day.

A security company phoned her and asked her if she could arrange something and she immediately grabbed her medical equipment, got into her vehicle and drove to the house in Albermarle.

“I responded together with Brandon Baadtjies, a paramedic from ER24. When we got there, we saw the mom with the baby laying on her chest and we started working on them. I clamped the umbilical cord and we made sure the baby was doing fine,” said Chantal.

Chantal even offered to transport both mom and baby in her private vehicle, but the paramedics from ER24 told her that they would transport her.

The mom and baby were both transported in a very healthy condition.

“In our daily lives, we deal with so much trauma and terrible incidents. No one phones an ambulance with happy news. Rare stories like this make you feel good, and they make you realise what your purpose is. It was such an amazing experience sharing in the joy of celebrating a new life,” she said.

Due to the big language barrier between the mom and the paramedics, they could not find out what the baby’s name was going to be, but Chantal named him baby boy.

“What an incredible feeling of holding a healthy newborn baby boy.”

Chantal said that it created hope and that it is not every day they get called out to good news.

“This is what makes our jobs more exciting,” she said.

“You have to have a passion for what you do and especially in our line of work where people’s lives are in your hands.”

How the day unfolded

A resident living in Lennox Road asked for help as his friend (22) was in severe pain and wanted help to take her to the hospital.

“Our gardener lives in the backroom of our premises and when I went to his room and saw the woman. I asked if she was pregnant and she said yes. I then tried phoning a provincial ambulance and while being on the phone the woman turned on her back and I saw she was giving birth,” said the resident.

“While being on the phone, I just heard a loud cry and that was when I realised the baby was already born and he was laying on his mother’s chest,” said the resident.

There was no ambulance available so the resident phoned her DA ward councillor Jean Ingram and requested help.

“When I got the message, I immediately posted it on all of my emergency groups and Chantal immediately replied and said that all her ambulances are out but she was one her way in her own vehicle,” said Jean.

The helpful resident said SWS Security also contacted ER24 who came out and they transported the woman and the baby to Bertha Gxowa Hospital in Germiston.

According to the resident, both mom and the baby are in a stable condition and healthy.

“They will probably be discharged soon as the mother is on her way back to Malawi,” said the resident.