Daughter delivered by dad at home

Jun 6 2008 by Neil Atkinson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Daughter delivered by dad at home

OH baby, what a surprise!

That was the feeling of Graham Sykes and his wife Kate when baby Verity made an unexpected appearance – on the bathroom floor of their home!

Dad Graham, 38, who runs In House Marketing in The Media Centre, had to act as midwife in the early hours of the morning when Verity made a sudden entrance.

And he was helped by staff from Calderdale Royal Hospital, who relayed instructions down the phone to him and Kate.

The result was a bouncing baby girl, Verity Alice, weighing in at 9lb 4 oz – and a pile of 19 rather soggy towels!

“It all happened so fast”, said Graham, of High Bank Close, Elland.

“Kate had started with contractions about 1am on Wednesday morning but when she rang the hospital, they told her it could take several more hours.

“They told her to relax, perhaps take a bath and to ring back when the contractions were coming every two or three minutes.

“Kate went to get a bath but the next thing I knew she was shouting” ‘I can feel the head’.

“I rushed in and the baby was on the way. For a few seconds we froze but then it all seemed to click into gear.”

Graham rang the hospital and was talked through the delivery as Kate, 33, remained calm throughout.

It is the couple’s second child, with three-year-old Scarlett delighted with her new baby sister.

Mum and baby were checked over by a midwife who called at their home and both were fine.

Graham, who runs In House Marketing in The Media Centre, said; “It’s not something that happens every day but we are delighted.

“It was quite exciting.”