Selby mother who gave birth to twins on A19 near York to feature on Helicopter ER

A Selby mother who gave birth to twins on the A19 near York will reveal her story on a reality television show.
Catherine Stevens with her family.Catherine Stevens with her family.
Catherine Stevens with her family.

Helicopter ER will feature Catherine Stevens, who started experiencing pains at around seven months pregnant in February this year as she prepared to go to work for the last time before maternity leave.

-> Ken Loach reflects on Kes half a century on from classic Barnsley-based filmHer mother decided it would be best to ring the hospital, and the triage department at the maternity unit advised that she travel to York Hospital as soon as she could.

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But while travelling on the A19, the twins decided to make an arrival two months early.

Catherine Stevens with her family.Catherine Stevens with her family.
Catherine Stevens with her family.

When Catherine went into labour, she was asked to leave the car and lay by the side of the road and a man with a van, a couple, a community nurse and a doctor stopped to help.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) was dispatched, along with two road ambulances.

-> Helicopter ER show to reveal Ripon motorcyclist's Yorkshire Air Ambulance rescue and leg amputationYorkshire Air Ambulance 's Helicopter Emergency Medical Service paramedic Sammy Wills led the delivery of the twins.

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Baby Poppy arrived first and was handed to YAA paramedic Tyrone to assess her, and Sammy then worked on delivering her baby brother Jake.

Jake was in the breech position and he was born in his amniotic sac, which protects a fetus in the womb.

The paramedic had to work against the clock to break the sac and get the new-born breathing.

Speaking of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Catherine said: “Sammy was fantastic. I didn’t even fully process what had happened until I reached the hospital.”

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Poppy was born at 10.35am and Jake was born at 10.53am on February 21 and Catherine was taken to York Hospital by road ambulance.

Both YAA paramedics accompanied the mother and babies to ensure a safe journey.

-> Channel 4 kicks off recruitment drive for move to Leeds - here are the jobs on offerCatherine spent several nights in hospital as she adjusted to being a mum to twins.

Jake had to be sent to Hull University Teaching Hospital to the neo-natal care unit, where received a blood transfusion.

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Howeber, both babies were discharged at 36 weeks old and they are continuing to do well at home.

Catherine’s labour will feature in Monday’s episode of Helicopter ER, the award-winning UKTV programme which follows the life-saving work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The episode, which airs at 9pm on Really, also features a long distance rescue mission to save a casualty at a waterfall, a horse riding instructor left with serious injuries and a cardiac arrest at a country show.

Helicopter ER is made by York-based Air Television who have won five Royal Television Society awards for their work on the compelling series.

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Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) serves five million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,500 missions every year. The charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.