Upminster couple reflect on baby's dramatic roadside birth

John Gooderham, 35, had newborn Hallie delivered into his hands in Hall Lane after his wife Katie's waters broke at their Upminster home last Friday (January 19).

Katie called John at 5.30pm after her waters broke, who promptly raced home from his Dagenham workplace.

John said he got back at 5.57pm to find Katie, 28, in severe pain and in need of urgent care.

The Upminster mother-of-two recalled her panic. "We couldn't really believe we wouldn't get there in time," she said.

"Our first daughter took days so we were very surprised - I was praying for a quick labour, but not that quick - it was scary."

RELATED NEWS: Rainham mum gives birth in Queen's Hospital Romford car park

John said he had to drop off daughter Niamh, two, at his mum's nearby address before attempting to drive to Queen's Hospital in Romford.

"My wife was in and out of the car in pain," he said. "We were screaming at her to get in."

They only got to the roundabout where Hall Lane and Avon Road meet, before Katie started screaming in agony.

“I was trying to calm my wife down, telling her to breathe, as it is in the movies, and she’s screaming back at me telling me 'it's coming'," John said.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he said he was unable to communicate to emergency staff but thankfully a teenage boy from a nearby house stepped in.

"I just gave him my phone - I didn't really know what he was going to do," John recalled.

Hallie was born to parents Katie and John (Image: John Gooderham)After the teen explained to London Ambulance Service personnel where they were, their crews arrived and Hallie was safely born at 6.12pm in Hall Lane.

“The paramedics when they turned up were unbelievable," John said. "One of them funnily enough was on a hen-do with my wife a year ago."

Katie added that she remembered little of what happened, but praised her husband and paramedics for taking control.

"Somehow they made me laugh and kept calm and got us where we needed to go," Katie said.

It was not without strife, however, as John said they became concerned after their newborn turned blue.

"That night it was one or two degrees out and the baby went bright blue," John said. "It was that cold.

"We're in the back of the ambulance and the baby's blue - we're thinking the worst, we're thinking we're going home without a baby."

However, after arriving at Queen's around 7pm, Hallie was said to be in a healthy condition, and they were discharged a day later (January 20).

Speaking yesterday (January 24), John reflected on how things had unfolded.

“We’re just like - did that even happen?

"We’ve just been through probably the most stressful thing you could ever do, and now we’re sitting here having a cup of tea."