CARLA Atkins’ first child, Genevieve, came into the world in unusual circumstances earlier this year. Last week the happy family reunited with the paramedics who helped deliver the child on the side of the road.
On 27 March, the Carrum Downs mother went into labour. Things progressed quickly, prompting a call to 000 to help get her to hospital.
Paramedics soon arrived to take Atkins to hospital to deliver her baby. Young Genevieve wasn’t so keen to wait though – the ambulance ended up pulling over on the side of the road so the baby could be safely delivered in the back.
Ambulance Victoria paramedics Tenesha Johnson and Alex McLay rose to the challenge to safely deliver the newborn into the world. Johnson said “we were about four minutes from hospital and she started grunting and suddenly the baby’s head was right there. I pulled the ambulance over on the side of the road and Carla ended up having her baby very quickly.”
Genevieve was born without complications. Atkins said “it was a very fast and unexpected delivery. I thought I’d have 24 hours of labour ahead of me. If I’d known she was half an hour away, I wouldn’t have complained as much about the pain.”
Last week Atkins and her family reunited with the paramedics and thanked them for their help. “It was special for all of us – my first child and both Tenesha and Alex’s first childbirth as paramedics. For them to be part of the start of her life is very special for us,” Atkins said.
“Thank you to them both for their patience and understanding. They were extremely calming for me. I’m so grateful they were there and that everything went so smoothly. Genevieve always has a smile on her face, and she sleeps through the night. She is a dream baby.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 4 November 2025