A FATHER-TO-BE had to deliver his own baby at the Royal Blackburn Hospital after the midwife left the room.

Emily Baron, 26, was taken to the hospital after experiencing labour pains while boyfriend Thomas Howard arranged for his grandfather to look after the couple’s other children.

When he arrived on the maternity ward 30 minutes later, he noticed Emily was losing blood and asked the midwife if it was normal.

Mr Howard, 33, said: “When I asked the midwife she said she didn’t know, which didn’t fill me with confidence at all.

“Then she went away, leaving me and Emily on our own. It was then that I noticed I the baby’s head coming through.

“I pressed the buzzer to get some assistance, but nobody came and I decided that I would have to step in.

“I think it lasted about 15 minutes, it happened quickly, and I just had to go with it.

“I’ve never done anything like it before, but I’ve seen others do it a few times, so had a rough idea.

“The baby was lying at the end of the bed between Emily’s legs and I was cleaning the mucous out her mouth and making sure she could breathe when the midwife came back in.

“I was in shock at what had happened, but the nurse didn’t say anything to me. She just carried on as if it was normal.”

Madeline Louise Howard was born at 8.15am on Tuesday weighing 4lb 15oz.

Mr Howard and Miss Baron, of Bolton Road, Ewood, have four other children - Reece, 9, Dylan, 6, Adam, two, and Deni, one.

He said: “I know that these nurses are busy and work very hard, but I feel that the department is very understaffed.

“My one-year-old daughter was born with a cleft lip, and Adam had breathing difficulties at birth.

"They both needed assistance at delivery, and if this had have happened with them, I dread to think what the outcome would have been.

“It’s just a massive relief that this has gone okay and she’s doing well.”

Ruth Gildert, divisional general manager in Family Care for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “I would like to apologise to Ms Baron and her partner for the distress they experienced when their baby was born at Royal Blackburn Hospital.

“We cannot comment in detail for reasons of patient confidentially but our midwives supervise all women very closely during labour.

“However there may, on some occasions, be the need to briefly leave the room and a baby can be born unexpectedly quickly, especially if this is not the mother’s first child.

“As a result of the concerns expressed we will be looking very closely into what happened and we will be contacting the family directly to discuss their concerns with them.

"We understand both mother and baby are doing well.”

Dr Tom Smith, Lancashire Telegraph medical expert, said: “There is no excuse for leaving a woman in the final stages of labour.

"There should have been someone at there at the birth.

“If there had been a problem it could have been very serious, for instance if the cord had wrapped around the baby’s neck it could have been starved of oxygen or if the woman began bleeding heavily she could have lost conciousness.

“This family should take the matter further.”

Campaign group the National Childbirth Trust said: “Being left alone in labour in hospital is unacceptable.

"As a civilised society we must ensure this basic need of women is met.

“Having a midwife with you when you give birth is vital to ensure there are no complications.”