Phone helpful in assisting first-time mum give birth

By REBECCA KUKU
ON Thursday at 8.05am, a call came through to St John Ambulance through the 111 coordination centre in Port Moresby, a woman in Morobe was in labour.
It was her first pregnancy and she couldn’t get to the hospital.
St John call-receiver Philmar Agarobe had taken the emergency call for help and for the next 40 minutes instructed the first-time mum how to deliver her baby.
Agarobe said she knew she had to remain calm and talk the mother through her labour.
“The woman told me that there were three other women with her but none of them knew what to do or how to help her deliver her baby,” she said. “We usually have a medical script we use to ask questions and give instructions to the caller.
“In this case, because I identified the woman was in labour, I gave her imminent birthing instructions.
“It was a team effort, really. A senior dispatcher and an EMT (emergency medical technician) assisted me.
“We stayed on the phone with the patient for over 40 minutes.
“At 8.15am, the bay’s head began to crown and the baby was successfully delivered at 08.30am. I instructed them how to prepare the cord for clamping and cutting.
“They were instructed to boil the “bilum string”. We told them that once the cord stops pulsating, they should apply the bilum string to clamp the cord.
“Then, clean the cord with warm water, and use a new razor blade to cut the cord,” she said.
Agarobe said that it wasn’t the first time that St John had helped women giving birth over the phone.
“However, this was the first time I had instructed someone in Lae – it’s on the other side of the country.”