By CASEY NEILL
A SPRINGVALE police officer saved a baby girl’s life last Wednesday – just two weeks after starting at the station.
Constable Laura Wood, 23, from Dandenong, was in the watchouse when a panicked man ran into the foyer about 9.30am on 10 September.
He’d been driving his pregnant wife to hospital along Springvale Road but pulled into the police station carpark when the baby’s head appeared.
Const Wood grabbed gloves, towels and blankets and told Sergeant Max Walker about the situation, while colleague Senior Constable Peter Evans called an ambulance.
“When I got out here the baby had fully come out and she was holding the baby,” she said.
“I noticed the baby wasn’t crying so I told the father, who was leaning in, to pat the back or to rub the back to make sure it was crying.
“After a few pats and rubbing the back it was starting to cry.”
Const Wood graduated from the Victoria Police Academy just nine weeks ago, and had never witnessed a birth before.
“I don’t really expect this, it’s not the first thing that came into my head when I came into work today,” she said.
“But I joined this job to help people and it was great that today I was able to help a new baby come into the world.”
Sgt Walker was nervous when he realised the baby wasn’t breathing.
“We have basic first aid training but we’re obviously not paramedics,” he said.
“I’m a father of three so I’ve been down this path before.
“I knew to stay calm, offer assurance to the family – which is what we did – make sure the airway was clear and apply basic first aid.”
He said the parents were shocked.
“It was such a quick event,” he said.
Sen Const Evans said a toddler in the back seat of the family’s wagon “seemed to take it all in his stride”.
“It was a great way to start the day. I think we’ve been smiling all day,” he said.
The couple and their baby were taken to Dandenong Hospital.
