Baby Isabelle born in layby on mum’s way to hospital (From York Press)

Baby Isabelle born in layby on mum’s way to hospital

10:32am Wednesday 16th January 2013 in News By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter

MEET baby Isabelle Dobson – who just couldn’t wait to reach hospital before entering the world.

Her mother, Lisa, had only just set off in an ambulance to York Hospital from her home in Maple Avenue, Bishopthorpe, when she realised Isabelle was arriving.

Paramedic David Brayshaw called to his colleague Alf Pickering to stop the ambulance as they were driving along Sim Balk Lane.

By the time Alf had pulled over and walked round to the back of the ambulance, Isabelle had been born.

David said: “She was born in seconds. Basically Lisa delivered her and I assisted, and then I made sure the baby was clean, cut the cord and gave her to her mother.”

The ambulance then resumed its journey to the maternity unit, where mother and baby were checked out and then allowed home only hours after the birth, with Isabelle weighing in at a healthy 6lbs 15ozs.

Lisa, 39, praised the ambulance crew: “They were fantastic,” she said.

She already has three children; Kaitlin, ten, Jake, eight, and Lucas three.

Each one was born more quickly than the last, but the sheer speed of Isabelle’s birth caught Lisa by surprise.

She said she had gone into labour at 3.15am and her waters had broken at 5.30am.

With her children asleep, her husband Mark – a freelance graphic designer – had to stay behind to look after them, and so they had needed to call the ambulance to get to hospital.

Mr Brayshaw said it was not the first baby he had delivered a baby in the vehicle during a 39-year career as an ambulanceman.

In fact, the number ran into double figures, and he had assisted in a home birth just before Christmas.