A first-time mum delivered her own baby on her grandmother’s bathroom floor six weeks premature.
Kirstie Hutchison, 22, of Lerwick, thought she had food poisoning when she woke up in the middle of the night feeling sick.
But she was actually going into labour and her little baby arrived so quickly she did not have enough time to make it to hospital.
Her son was born on Thursday at 9.20am weighing 5lbs 14oz with the help of her sister-in-law Ellyn Leask.
He has now been named Archie after the children’s charity which helped the baby boy following his sudden birth.
His grandmother Colleen was also on the last day of a fundraising trek on The Great Wall of China in support of The Archie Foundation when she found out her little grandson was born.
The charity looks after patients at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and the neonatal unit in Aberdeen where Archie was flown to in an air ambulance.
Miss Hutchison said she did not realise she was going into labour when she woke up at 3am in the morning.
She said: “I had a sore belly but I thought I got a food poisoning as I had the baby shower the night before. It got worse and I couldn’t sleep any more.
“I phoned the maternity and described the symptoms and they told me I should come in and get checked. As time got on I just felt worse and worse and I thought I won’t be able to get to the hospital.
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“By nine o’clock I didn’t know what to do so I texted my sister-in-law Ellyn and said I need help. I just started to bleed then. That’s when the roaring started as I felt the head coming.”
“It was a terrifying experience.
“I just managed a few pushes and he fell onto a pile of towels. Ellyn wrapped him and handed him to me.”
Grandmother Colleen, 45, was on the last day of the trek with her three sisters when the drama unfolded.
She said: “We did the trek and on the last day, which was quite emotional itself, I came back to the hotel and I got a phone call from my husband who said that our daughter has had the baby.
“The fundraising efforts feel even more important now, as we had to use the help that the charity provides.”
Miss Hutchison added: “Now my baby boy Archie will have a name with the whole meaning of this story that he will carry for the rest of his life.”
