‘Prepared for anything’: Firefighters help deliver preemie in hotel room

Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) is, according to their motto, “Prepared for anything,” but some days that “anything” is a little more exciting than others. 

The FRNSW team in the town of Bundanoon, New South Wales, responded to an emergency call to an area hotel. A mother was in intense labor with her baby, and she was about three weeks before her expected due date. 

The Fire and Rescue station dispatched a four-person team to respond to the call, including Firefighter Roberto Gnecchi-Ruscone. According to a statement by FRNSW, Gnecchi-Ruscone had completed a refresher course in pediatric assessment just three days prior, and was already trained in medical assistance as a first responder. “Roberto (the CFR-trained member) and his firefighting colleagues embodied FRNSW’s motto, ‘Prepared for Anything’ and raced into action,” the statement read.

For safety, Roberto also took advantage of a first responders’ app where he could access the advice of dedicated paramedics live. 

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BUNDANOON | Firefighters help deliver premature baby in southern highlands hotel room. A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crew has come to the rescue of a woman, giving birth three weeks early in a hotel at Bundanoon, in the state’s Southern Highland... fire.nsw.gov.au/incident.php?r…

7:11 AM · Dec 1, 2023

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When they reached the hotel, the first responders went upstairs where a number of hotel staff were doing their best to support the mother, Agum, through her contractions which, at one minute apart, were already in their final stages. Within minutes of the firefighters’ arrival, a baby girl, Deborah, was born. The firefighters gave Deborah to her mother, and the pair were assessed by the newly-arrived ambulance paramedics before being transported to the hospital. 

According to reports, both mother and baby are in good condition. FRNSW gave baby Deborah a teddy bear to remember the momentous, chaotic occasion. 

The heroic FRNSW hotel delivery comes as many parts of Australia are facing a shortage in maternity care, especially in rural parts of the country. A shortfall of specialists, pressure on medical professionals and hospitals due to lingering effects of the  COVID-19 pandemic, and shifting local demographics have all contributed to the closure of maternity wards. Where these wards have closed, hospitals have remained on bypass for months, redirecting women to other locations between one and four hours away. 

A lack of availability of care has resulted in more anecdotes of roadside births and other unplanned, out-of-hospital deliveries similar to Deborah’s.

Ged Kearney, Assistant Health Minister, told ABC that the Australian government is looking at ways to remedy the staffing shortages. “We need to make sure there is a robust workforce – that enough people are going into midwifery, that they can have fulfilling careers and work to their full scope of practice,” she said.

The crisis in maternity care in Australia mirrors the debate about “maternity care deserts” in less populous regions of the United States. The mainstream U.S. media has blamed these gaps in maternity care on pro-life laws in some states, as Live Action has reported, but Australia’s problems with maternity care take place in a country where abortion is legal and most states permit it up to 22 weeks. Thus, while abortion advocates have suggested increased access to abortion is a panacea for maternity care access, Australia’s example seems to be yet more evidence of the hollowness of this claim.