Fife mum gives birth at home with 17-year old daughter as midwife

A new mum had a very special helper at the birth of her baby last week.
Despite the unexpected delivery, thanks to Kya, all was well.Despite the unexpected delivery, thanks to Kya, all was well.
Despite the unexpected delivery, thanks to Kya, all was well.

Linsey Downie of St Andrews unexpectedly went into labour at home – and 17-year-old daughter Kya had to jump into action as an impromptu midwife to deliver her baby sister.

Baby Cally was born in Linsey’s bathroom on Monday, August 30, weighing in at a very healthy 7lb 2oz. The baby’s official due date was the following day.

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Proud Mum Linsey said: “I had been at my midwife appointment in the morning and had made another appointment if I hadn’t had the baby in between times.

I had driven over to see my Mother in Leuchars for lunch. When I was driving back, I felt some slight discomfort but I didn’t think it was anything to worry about.

“When I got in, my daughter Kya said she was going for a bath so I nipped to the loo before she went in. I soon realised things were progressing and I could actually feel the baby’s head.”

Linsey called her daughter Kya to explain what was happening and she calmly took control of the situation.

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She called the emergency services who talked her through what to do.

Six-year-old Blair helped too by putting Kya’s phone onto loudspeaker so that she was hands free to aid in the delivery.

Linsey said: “Kya was so calm and dealt with this so well. She listened to the instructions and simply delivered her baby sister with no fuss or drama. I am so proud of her.”

Thankfully an ambulance arrived quickly to take mem and baby to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, to get checked over.

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Meanwhile, Linsey’s eldest daughter Shannon arrived on the scene to take care of her younger siblings who were still in shock at what had just happened at home.

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All was well and mother and baby were discharged later that evening.

“I didn’t have to time to stress or worry about it and everything happened so fast. All in from parking my car at the house and Cally making her quick entrance to the world, was 23 minutes!”

Linsey who is also mum to Shannon (21), Kya (17) and Blair (6) said she expected this birth to be quicker than the others as the labour durations have all got shorter with each delivery.

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“I have had three previous pregnancies and I did think this delivery would be quite quick – but it was much faster than even I could imagine.

“Obviously, I would have felt safer and more secure delivering in a hospital where you have the comfort of knowing there’s plenty of medical staff around for any hiccups. You don’t have that security with a home birth.

"There wasn’t time to worry about what could go wrong though and thankfully, everything went fine and the baby was born safely. It’s all a bit of a blur but I think she arrived with just three contractions!

“I am sure there will always be a very special bond between Kya and her sister Cally.”

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