A mum has told of the dramatic moment she went into labour prematurely on a packed beach while on a day out with her family. Kirsty Nott, 33, had brought five of her six children to Aberavon Beach in Port Talbot, Wales for a day out in the sun when she suddenly started to have contractions. The mum was expecting to welcome her seventh baby on Wednesday, August 10, but wound up giving birth almost a full month early.
On July 19, eight-months pregnant Kirsty brought her children Logan, 14, Braydan, 10, Roxy, 9, Kruz, 8, and Blake, 4, out for a day in the sun after their school trip was cancelled due to weather warnings. Her husband Shane Gregory, 36, who works as a telecom engineer, was busy working that day, so only she and her children were left. The family visited Aberavon Beach in Port Talbot, Wales. Just moments after setting foot on the beach, Kirsty started to feel a sharp ᴘᴀɪɴ in her stomach.
In a panic, Kirsty rang her parents and her husband, who were both in Aberdare, for help – but, from miles away, all they could do was call paramedics to the scene for her. While she waited for medical help to arrive, strangers on the beach started to gather around her to help.
Speaking to Wales Online, Kirsty recalled: “I hadn’t even put my bum on the sand yet. I was panicking. There were no familiar faces. I thought he was going to come out on the beach.”
Kirsty’s previous children had been delivered quickly so she was concerned that this labour would follow the same pattern, but her biggest worry was ʜᴀᴇᴍᴏʀʀʜᴀɢɪɴɢ whilst far away from a hospital as she had suffered from postpartum ʜᴀᴇᴍᴏʀʀʜᴀɢᴇs with four out of her sixth births.
When paramedics got in touch, Kirsty was in too much ᴘᴀɪɴ to speak and had to pass the phone to another beach-goer. The woman, who Kirsty had just met that day, had to relay the paramedic’s advice, telling the panicked mum to lay down and strip off from the waist down.
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before coastguards from the Swansea RNLI arrived with windbreakers to give Kirsty some privacy. Kirsty’s five children, who had been playing in the sea, were sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ when they came back to the shore to find what had happened. Just as a coastguard nervously announced that the baby’s head was crowning, Kirsty thought the baby was going to be delivered on Aberavon beach but luckily an ambulance arrived on time to take her straight to Singleton Hospital.
At the hospital, Kirsty gave birth to baby Tanner-Jax Gregory Nott, who weighed 5lbs 11oz. As Kirsty had predicted, she suffered another post-partum ʜᴀᴇᴍᴏʀʀʜᴀɢᴇ. Thankfully, she was taken care of by medical staff and said it was lucky that she did not give birth on the beach as it could have been a very different outcome. After spending four days in a hospital to be monitored by medical staff, the youngster was taken home to his family. Soon after the traumatic beach day, Kirsty received a message from the Port Talbot coastguards, who had a special coastguard teddy for baby Gregory and activity packs for his brothers and sisters. “I really did appreciate everything they did, they kept me calm,” said Kirsty.
The mother decided to deliver some chocolates to them to thank them for their help, but did admit that she felt quite embarrassed to see them again after the incident. Kirsty also said her teenage son Logan is quite traumatised from the very public birth of his new brother, but thankfully, the family of nine are now safe and sound together in Aberdare.