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A DAD delivered a baby boy at his Bishop's Waltham home three hours after his wife had been turned away from Winchester's RHCH as being in false labour.

New mum Chrissy Sturt, of Wordsworth Close, said: "Our son Jack was delivered by his dad straight onto the sitting room floor. No midwife, no paramedics. No floor coverings! No pain relief.

"We had been turned away three hours earlier from the hospital. The head midwife had insisted I was in false labour, and not experiencing true contractions.

"Although we were given the option of staying for one hour on an open ward, she strongly advised we return home as nothing was likely to happen for a few more days.

"When we got home the contractions continued at the same pace and intensity as they had in hospital, so I thought it was going to carry on like that for the rest of the night and perhaps longer.

"Then suddenly at 8pm I needed to push. Richard rang for an ambulance, but was kept waiting in a queue and before he even spoke to a paramedic, the baby was born.

"He cut the cord using our kitchen scissors."

She said her husband had never witnessed a birth before, having missed the birth of the couple's daughter Lucy, as he was ill at home with a chest infection.

"Luckily our son Jack was born perfect and healthy," she said.

"Nothing went wrong. But something easily could have."

Mrs Sturt, who works for the BBC, added: "When we got to hospital the ward was very busy.

"In addition to this, it took the ambulance half-an-hour to arrive. There was no crew in the area - one had to be dispatched from the QA in Portsmouth."

A week after the birth on July 9, mother and baby, who weighed 8lbs 9oz, were said to be doing fine.

10:32am Thursday 17th July 2008

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