Baby delivered by father on A34 in hospital dash

Neil and Sarah Doughty believe the long trek to north Staffordshire almost claimed the life of their baby daughter Charlotte.

She was born with the umbilical cord around her neck and not breathing as Neil delivered his baby in the family car – a Ford S-Max – in the rain and dark alongside the main road near Trentham Monkey Forest.

Sarah today said she would not wish the terrifying ordeal on her worst enemy. The 37-year-old, who now has two little girls, had no pain relief and no medical help to hand – just a voice on the end of the phone after a desperate 999 call.

The heavily-pregnant Sarah had been shopping and just had her tea when she went into labour at her parents' home in Sneyd Close, Kingston Hill, just minutes away from County Hospital.

The couple began the dash to the nearest consultant-led unit in Stoke as advised, but the expectant mum quickly realised that she wouldn't make it.

Their daughter was born blue and not breathing just 10 minutes after Sarah's waters broke on the way to Royal Stoke University Hospital at around 8.20pm on April 1.

Furious Mrs Doughty said: "Neil had no choice but to pull over, despite the road being busy, poorly lit and it was raining. It was terrifying. I had no pain relief and no medical professionals with me."

Her sister Rebecca was travelling with the couple, who live in Wordsworth Avenue, Highfields, and called 999.

A call operator talked the family through the stressful birth until paramedics arrived a few minutes later.

The family have previously helped campaign over the cuts to consultant-led maternity services which were part of the downgrading of services at County Hospital, formerly Stafford Hospital. Tearful Sarah said: "I want to tell all the gory details because I want people to realise what I went through.

"Neil was shouting at me not to push but I had to. I had no choice but to give birth in the front seat of the car, while I was still dressed.

"Charlotte was born blue and she wasn't breathing. The umbilical cord was wrapped around the back of her neck. We were tapping her feet but she didn't cry."

Thankfully, emergency crews from West Midlands Ambulance Service arrived a couple of minutes after the birth and mother and baby were transferred to Royal Stoke University Hospital. Charlotte, who was overdue, was weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 14oz.

Mother and daughter have now returned home and both are doing well. Sarah said: "Charlotte is an excellent baby, she is sleeping and eating well. The couple's first daughter, Jessica, two, was born prematurely at Stafford Hospital and Sarah said: "I am annoyed that there was a perfect maternity service at Stafford, who saved my first daughter's life, and all this has been taken away.

"I only have praise for Stafford Hospital as Jessica was eight weeks premature and they saved her life."

Sarah was under a consultant with her second child because of the complications with Jessica's birth which is why she could not go to the midwife-led maternity unit at the nearby Weston Road site.

The data assistant, who works for Staffordshire County Council, is angry that she had to go through this ordeal because of the changes made in Stafford. She said: "I'm not a statistic, I work with statistics but I am a real person, Charlotte is a real person. We need something to be done because something will go seriously wrong and soon, does a baby have to die on the way to Stoke for action to be taken?"

Baby Charlotte is not the first child to be born on the road en route to Stoke with a child being born on the M6 last month.

Campaigners fighting to save services at Stafford Hospital had warned that this would happen after the transfer of maternity services in January.

The maternity unit in Stafford is now midwife-led and consultant-led services, for medium to high-risk births, are based at New Cross Hospital or the Royal Stoke University Hospital. It was announced last month that paediatric services will transfer from County Hospital on May 18 with more services planned to move later this summer.