Mum 'forever grateful' to SAS after giving birth on side of road

Gillian Mossner, of Dumbarton, was in the latter stages of labour and on her way to The Royal Alexandra Hospital to give birth to her third child.

Travelling with her husband, Nicky, who is from Switzerland, Gillian, 29, said she couldn’t sit in the car any longer with the “contractions becoming so intense".

The couple stopped on the hard shoulder of the M8, around 500 yards away from the exit leading to the roundabout for Glasgow Airport.

She added: “My husband called emergency services for an ambulance to pick us up and stayed on the line to them until the ambulance arrived while preparing to deliver our baby in the back of our car on the hard shoulder.”

Nicky, 32 and a software engineer, said: “Gillian got out the car and managed to get into the back seat. She was lying awkwardly on the folded down seat.

“The guy on the phone was guiding me in getting ready for the baby coming but I couldn't see baby's head yet. He stayed on the phone until the ambulance and police arrived, with Gillian going through contractions the whole time. When the ambulance crew came, Gillian managed to get into the ambulance.”

After the call was taken, an ambulance crew of Victoria McNiven, and Rosie Mccolgan, were dispatched, arriving within seven minutes.

Gillian added: “Fortunately, Rosie and Victoria arrived in the ambulance extremely quickly and I was taken in the back of the ambulance while my husband followed behind on our way to the hospital. Very quickly after we drove off with blue lights on, my waters broke in the back of the ambulance.

“Rosie was with me in the back at that time. She could see the baby’s head so under her direction we stopped at the side of the road beside St James Playing Fields. She opened the doors at the back of the ambulance to let my husband in. Both Rosie and Victoria helped deliver my baby as safely as possible.”

Lucy Mossner was delivered at 1811 hours on April 18, 2023. The family was transported to hospital following the dramatic birth. The couple have two other boys; Ellias, who turned 4 in June, and Glen who turned 2 at the start of August.

Gillian said: “It was traumatising for me to say the least. However, for not one moment did I feel unsafe or there was a real threat to mine or my baby’s life. Both responders were so calm and did their jobs fantastically to ensure me and my baby were safe and well.

“The way Rosie reacted to everything under that immense pressure so calmly was unreal. I cannot thank both Rosie and Victoria enough for looking after us and providing such immense care under the circumstances.”

Gillian said Lucy is healthy and well, adding: “I have benefited greatly from their efforts and doing their jobs magnificently well. They are a real credit to the Scottish Ambulance Service. I will be forever grateful for both Rosie and Victoria and their efforts in the safe delivery of the birth of my baby girl - thank you.”

Victoria said: “I’d like to congratulate the family again and I hope mum and baby are doing well. Rosie and I were in awe of mum and how well she did considering the circumstances. Thanks to Rosie and the family, I had an invaluable learning experience. It was lovely that dad was able to be next to mum in the ambulance and witness the birth of his daughter as everything happened so fast. I’d also like to thank the police officers in attendance who escorted us through traffic and also assisted with getting the family’s car to the hospital.”

Rosie added: “I would like to wish Mum, Dad and baby Lucy all the happiness and joy. I’m really pleased to hear that everyone is doing well given the situation they found themselves in. It’s nice to hear back from patients because we rarely get to find out how they are and the positive outcomes of their care they received. I have not stopped sharing this story with family, friends and colleagues because I feel proud to be part of this journey and how Lucy arrived into this world, I’ll certainly never forget it.”