I gave birth in ambulance on A96 amid staff shortages at local hospital

A woman gave birth in an ambulance on the A96 - after being told the specialist care she might need was unavailable at her local hospital.

Hannah Smith, 39, was travelling to Aberdeen Maternity Hospital as she could not go to Dr Gray's in Elgin - which is nearer - as its consultant-led maternity services have been downgraded since 2018.

However her labour progressed so quickly during the journey that her baby boy Braeson arrived before she could get there. "I don't think anyone should be put into that position," she said.

NHS Grampian said it was sorry about the "poor experience".

It is at least the third time a woman has had to give birth at the side of the A96 since 2018, with two other cases reported by the Press and Journal in 2021 and 2022.

Hannah had wanted to give birth at Dr Gray's, which is about half-an-hour from her home near Buckie in Moray, rather than travel about an hour and 40 minutes to Aberdeen.

However, because of her age, her IVF pregnancy, and the possibility she might require an emergency Caesarean section, she had been advised to have the delivery at a hospital with full consultant-led maternity services.

A Caesarean section, or C-section, is a surgical operation to deliver a baby through a cut made in the mother's stomach and womb.

She had previously undergone an emergency Caesarean with her first child two years ago.

Hannah woke at about 03:30 on 11 October believing her waters might have broken.

Initially her contractions were mild, but by around 06:00 they had intensified dramatically.

Her parents began driving her towards Aberdeen, but after contacting maternity triage they were advised to meet an ambulance in Keith for the remainder of the journey.

By coincidence, one of the paramedics who arrived to help was Hannah's second cousin.

"It was just nice to see a familiar face," Hannah said.

But shortly after leaving Keith, with her mother also in the ambulance, Hannah realised her baby was about to arrive.

"I could feel it and I said 'no, he's coming'," she recalled. "And from there it was literally seconds and that next contraction he was out."

Her son was born as the ambulance crew searched for somewhere safe to stop near a farm track just off the main A96 road.

Hannah said she felt immediate relief when she heard him cry, having feared something might go wrong so far from hospital.

Despite having given birth, Hannah still had to complete the journey to Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. She said she asked to be taken to Elgin instead, but was told she had to continue to Aberdeen because that was where she had been booked in.

She said the journey was particularly uncomfortable due to bumps and roundabouts.

"I was terrified that I might drop him," she said.

Hannah said she understood why doctors wanted her to give birth somewhere with specialist support available, but questioned why that care was still unavailable closer to home.

She believes she would have reached Dr Gray's before her baby was born had she been able to go there.

"We would have made it if we'd gone to Elgin," she said.

Instead, the specialist hospital birth she had been advised to have became an ambulance delivery.

"Instead of consultants I ended up with a paramedic and my mum as the midwife," she said.

"It was nice in the end but it could have gone very differently.

"If anything had gone wrong with me or with a baby it wouldn't have been such a pleasant experience.

"I feel like Moray mums have been put on the back burner, that their maternity care isn't as important because they live in a rural situation."

She praised the ambulance crew and staff at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital for the care they provided.

For now, Hannah is recovering at home and enjoying life with her newborn son and his two-year-old brother Alvah.

But while her story had a happy ending, she fears further delays could put other mothers at risk.

"I'm not the first mum to give birth on the A96 and I probably won't be the last," she said.

"I think just delaying it is going to put more women at risk."

It was announced earlier this month that the restoration of full maternity services at Dr Gray's Hospital had been delayed until next year.

Maternity services were downgraded in 2018 due to staff shortages, meaning most expectant mothers in the area had to travel to Aberdeen or Inverness for births.

Currently low-risk pregnancies are being accepted at Dr Gray's.

The aim had been to have a full consultant-led maternity service by the end of this year. NHS Grampian said it would now instead be done "as soon as is safely possible" next year.

Katie Colville, director of midwifery for NHS Grampian, said: "While we are pleased mum and baby are doing well, we are sorry Hannah and her family had a poor experience.

"We want as many women in Moray as possible to have the choice of giving birth at Dr Gray's, closer to home and with the people who matter to them, and this type of experience only reaffirms our determination to deliver that as soon as safely possible.

"That said, for some women and babies, the specialist care available in Aberdeen means that planning to give birth there will always be the safest option."

She said extensive arrangements were in place to support women who need to travel and to minimise the need for journeys during labour.

"Sometimes, though, labour is unpredictable and circumstances can change quickly," Colville added.

"We know how long Moray families have waited for the return of full consultant-led maternity services at Dr Gray's, and this is why we're so determined to finish what we've started."

It comes as a nationwide review of Scotland's maternity services is ongoing.

Chaired by maternal and child health expert Prof Christine McCourt, it will pay particular attention to how care is provided in rural and island communities - with specific focus on services in Elgin, as well as Caithness and Wigtownshire.

Prof McCourt is due to submit her findings and recommendations in July next year.