Woman gives birth in hospital car park

By Lina Kurdi

A woman gave birth in a hospital car park after “pottering around for a couple of hours” at home after her contractions started.

Brenda Magalhaes Arruda, 22, from Eltham said because she had an eight-hour labour with her son, Isaac, she believed she had plenty of time before she needed to make her way to Lewisham Hospital in Lewisham High Street.

When Mrs Magalhaes Arruda’s contractions became stronger she was driven to hospital by her husband, Pedro Dos Santos, also 22.

But on the way, Mrs Magalhaes Arruda realised she was already in full labour.

The couple arrived at University Hospital Lewisham around 9am on Monday, April 11 with the mum-to-be almost giving birth.

Mr Dos Santos ran to get a wheelchair, leaving Mrs Magalhaes Arruda standing alone by the car.

She said: “I could feel the head coming and I was screaming with pain.

“There was a man on his phone nearby. I told him to get a nurse or someone.”

Healthcare assistant Donna Doyle, 41, said: “Brenda was standing in the middle of the car park, and I could see she was in labour.

“She kept saying, ‘the head, the head’, so I looked down and saw that the baby’s head was out.

“I didn’t really know what to do so I just kept saying ‘Don’t worry, we’re getting help. Don’t worry’.

“I’ve never delivered a baby before and don’t have children myself, so I tried to remember what I’ve seen on TV.

“Next thing, a big contraction came, and Brenda screamed, ‘The baby is coming’.

“We both bent down and caught the baby at the same time. The baby was really slippery and started to cry.

“Then a couple of women in the car park came running over. I asked one of them to get a towel from Brenda’s bag to wrap the baby in.”

Shortly after, a porter came rushing over with a trolley and helped Ms Doyle get Mrs Magalhaes Arruda and the baby, still attached to the umbilical cord, on to the trolley.

At this point, Mr Dos Santos returned.

Ms Doyle said: “He’d only been gone for 10 minutes, and his wife had already given birth. He couldn’t believe it. He was in shock.”

A group of doctors and nurses arrived on the scene and took Mrs Arruda to the labour ward to deliver the placenta.

Baby Esther weighed in at just under 8lb and mum and baby were able to go home the next day.

Mrs Magalhaes Arruda said: “It might sound strange, but it was a really great birth. It took just three hours, and I did most of it completely alone.

“I feel great – I can walk about and I’m looking forward to having a good rest.”

Lizzie Thomas, sister on the surgical pre-assessment suite, said: “We’re all so proud of Donna. Her dedication, care, and compassion shine through, and we’re just blown away by how she supported Brenda in her time of need.”

Pictured top: Brenda and baby Esther with healthcare assistant Donna Doyle