A MUM from Matchborough gave birth on the M5 after failing to get to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in time.
Anne-Marie Williams, while thankful for her healthy new-born baby, is furious with the lack of maternity services near Redditch.
She said: “The Alexandra Hospital doesn’t allow women to give birth there anymore.
“When I was pregnant I told the midwives that Worcester Royal Hospital was too far for me.
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it there if my waters broke.”
And on Thursday November 1, at 37 weeks pregnant, that’s exactly what happened.
Knowing the baby was on the way, Anne-Marie called the hospital and asked for an ambulance.
It arrived to pick up her and her partner Garry Pallett, with mum Tina following in her car.
However, the paramedics decided to pull over on the hard shoulder between Junctions 6 and 7 on the M5 after realising she was about to give birth.
“They were amazing but if anything went wrong I would have been in trouble,” said Anne-Marie.
Tina, who was unaware of what had happened, carried on to the hospital.
But after receiving a text from Garry which read ‘she’s arrived safely’ she realised she was already a grandmother.
“We’re so pleased to have baby Robyn-Sophia Pallett with us,” said Tina.
“But that doesn’t hide the fact something needs to be done to save the Alex.
“More and more houses are being built in Redditch but there’s no hospital for all these people to go.
It’s frustrating because I know my daughter would have made it to the Alex because she was only five minutes away.”
A new ‘one-stop-shop’ Maternity Hub has recently opened at the Alex providing antenatal scanning, consultant clinics and an early pregnancy assessment unit, as well as other services.
