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July 15, 2004updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

Dramatic birth

By Press Gazette

Deputy editor Rachel Lusby, left, landed herself in the news spotlight of her own paper after a dramatic birth in her conservatory, writes Roger Bushby.

The Harborough Mail journalist was supposed to give birth in hospital, but her contractions were coming so quickly at 5am, that she realised there was no time to get there.

Lusby retreated to the downstairs loo, while husband Adrian rang for an ambulance and a midwife. “A hospital midwife stayed on the phone with us until the paramedics arrived,” she said.

“They got me out of the loo and onto the conservatory floor.”

The birth, however, hit complications when baby Adam was born with the umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck. Paramedic Sal Coates used a pair of kitchen scissors to cut it before Adam – who eventually weighed in at 6lb 9oz – could be born.

By the time the midwife arrived at the Lusby home, Adam was lustily exercising his lungs, after giving birth to his very first story.

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And proving that no journalist is ever off duty, Lusby asked paramedic Coates to pose with Adam for a photo for the paper.

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