A proud grandma says she is “thrilled” after helping deliver her daughter’s baby in the backseat of her car — and saving his life.
Sonja Cook, 46, was letting Shelby and her partner, Ryan Butler, 32, and three other children into her house when she heard her daughter shout “It’s coming” from the backseat of their red Vauxhall Zafira.
The couple decided to drop their kids off at Cook’s home in Grimethorpe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire in the UK, before driving to Barnsley Hospital, where Shelby planned to give birth.
After finding Shelby lying on the backseat, she dialed 999 (the UK version of 911) and requested an ambulance. Before it arrived, Cook was able to successfully deliver her daughter’s baby boy — whom she has since named Mason.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing after Mason was delivered. He wasn’t breathing and had turned blue, as he had been born “en caul” with his mother’s amniotic sac covering his face.
It was Cook’s quick thinking that saved Mason’s life after she removed it and made sure he was breathing.
Cook said: “The whole time I was telling myself, ‘This is not happening.’
“I had watched TV programs before where stuff like this goes on, but I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.
“Delivering Mason was terrifying as his life was in my hands, and of course I wanted to make sure he was okay.
“After I saw his head, he just flew out, he didn’t want to be inside any longer.
“Mason is doing absolutely amazing, he is such a lovely baby.”
Mom Shelby said: “It was quite scary, but it all happened quite fast.
“I was scared when I couldn’t hear him cry, and that’s what you want to hear.
“I’m thankful that my mom did what she did to save Mason’s life.
“I’ve now got two boys and two girls, but this was the craziest birth.
“But he’s doing really well now.
“He’s been brilliant.”
Shelby was a week overdue when she arrived flustered at her mom’s house on Tuesday, August 6.
Cook, a manager at TY Caravans LTD, explained how Shelby had spent the previous day in Barnsley Hospital after having contractions, but returned home after being told she would have to wait for a labor bed.
But the nanny has revealed how at 4:22 a.m. the next day, she received a call from her daughter saying she was having stomach pain, and that she thought the baby was coming.
Cook told her to drive over to her house — where she lives with her husband, Brannan Cook, 41 — and drop off her three other children, Sophie, 9, Lexi, 8, and Noah, 4, before heading to the hospital.
But just minutes after she arrived at 4:39 a.m., Cook found herself having to deliver the baby on her own.
She said: “At 4:22 a.m., she rang me sounding quite distressed and in pain.
“So I just said to get the kids out of the way and bring them over to me, and me and my husband will look after them.
“She was worried she wouldn’t be accepted into hospital because her contractions weren’t every three minutes, but I just said go, just in case there are any complications.
“When they arrived, Ryan and I got the kids out of the backseats and I heard him say, ‘It’s coming’ and she was trying to push, but her water hadn’t broken.”
Cook said she saw her get out of the front seat and lie down in the back.
The nanny said: “She got out and said ‘Move the kids’ car seat’ and laid on the backseat.
“I turned the back lights of the car on and my husband attached a flashlight to the door.
“I called an ambulance and they talked me through what to do.
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“They asked me if I could see the baby’s head and I couldn’t, but as soon as I looked back, Shelby screamed the ‘baby’s coming’ and his head popped out.
“He then literally flew out into my arms — and I couldn’t believe what had just happened.”
But Cook’s delight was quashed when the ambulance asked if the baby was crying — and that’s when she realized something was wrong.
She said: “The men were running around to get towels and blankets to keep the baby warm.
“That’s when I noticed he wasn’t crying.
“I began patting his back and rubbing his airways but still nothing.
“He began turning bluey green, and I was panicking, but that’s when I felt a thin sack over his face which I pulled off and sure enough he started having a little crying.
“He turned that color as it was a cold morning.
“It was dark in the back of the car so I couldn’t see it at first.
“But it was a huge relief.”
Mason’s delivery is known as an “en caul birth” with the amniotic sac, or caul, covering his face meaning he couldn’t breathe.
The sac normally breaks during labor — when the “water breaks” — but can remain unbroken with the baby still inside, according to the NHS.
At around 5:15 a.m., the ambulance arrived and swiftly took Shelby, Cook, and little Mason to Barnsley Hospital, where checkups were performed.
He weighed 8 pounds and 5 ounces.
While at the hospital, Cook dressed Mason before returning home at 11:30 a.m.
Cook said: “I’ve been there for each of my grandchildren’s births.
“But to actually deliver your final grandson was terrifying.”
“Mason’s really content, he’s a good healthy baby, and now we have a good story to tell him when he is older.”
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