OTTAWA -- A little girl just couldn’t wait to come into the world—delivered at home Thursday evening with the assistance of Ottawa paramedics.
“A huge thank you to Ottawa Paramedic for being my huge support on delivering my baby girl at my home,” wrote mom Rosy Divirgilio on Twitter. “It was super fast and I honestly couldn’t have done it without you all.”
Ottawa Paramedics say they were called to the home just after 7 p.m. for a woman experiencing frequent contractions.
Once they arrived, they determined childbirth was imminent and about half an hour later, the little girl was born.
"I knew she was going to come any time now but what I didn’t know is she came this fast," Divirgilio said. "I called my husband and I said ‘you know what I’m going to have to call an ambulance because I don’t think I’m going to make it’ I thought oh my God I can’t, I didn’t ask for this, I was looking forward to the epidural!"
Miguel Almeida, the father, said he thought the ambulance would be taking Divirgilio to the hospital before the birth.
“I was thinking we were going to get an ambulance and they’re like ‘no it’s going to happen here’ and I’m like, okay, so I was trying to comfort her,” he said.
Both mom and baby were later taken to their intended birthing hospital to be monitored, paramedics said.
“They were 100 per cent supportive and I couldn’t have done it without them and pushing through and squeezing their fingers. They were great, they helped me through it, I’m so grateful," said Divirgilio.
The paramedics who attended the call, identified by the paramedic service as Gita, Will, Chris and Matt, were all awarded stork pins to commemorate the special event.
The Ottawa Paramedic Service say this is the fourth baby delivered by advanced care paramedic Matt since he joined the service four years ago and the third delivery Matt, Chris and Will have done together.
"As much as you prepare in your clinicals and hospital placements it’s never quite like the real thing when you’re at home and you don’t have the doctor at your shoulders so it’s nerve wracking but it’s also a really exciting experience when we are able to participate in the delivery," said Emily Fullarton, an Ottawa Paramedic Service public information officer.
“One of them, Matt in particular, this was his fourth delivery with our service and actually he’s been with us for as many years so it’s pretty exciting for him too.”
