Mum lifts own baby from womb after joining operating theatre team

A mum lifted her own baby from her womb during a caesarean section in what is thought to be a Scottish medical first.

Dr Leila El Alti essentially joined the operating theatre team at a North Lanarkshire hospital before giving birth to daughter Aurora by "maternal-assisted C-section".

The 39-year-old lecturer previously suffered trauma when giving birth to her other two children, and had requested the novel procedure, which saw her scrubbing her hands and forearms and wearing a surgical gown and gloves, the same as medical staff.

She said the moment when she pulled 7lbs 9oz Aurora from her abdomen and on to her chest as "the most magical experience of my life" and left her sobbing with joy.

Aurora is now a healthy 10-month-old baby.

El Alti, who lives in West Lothian, said: "When she was being born, the lead obstetrician brought Aurora's head and shoulders out and I then completed the birth by grasping her under her arms and lifting her on to me."

She added that she was given a quiet moment with Aurora, so that her voice was the first one her child heard - but she ended up crying uncontrollably, before keeping Aurora resting on her chest as she was transferred to the hospital ward.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime, she said: "I was nervous, but not about the technical part of pulling her out - I was very excited about that part.

"I think the positive experience had a huge part to play in my recovery as well. I was euphoric for so long - I was in my happy baby bubble and I think generally my mental and physical health was influenced by this whole experience."

El Alti added that Aurora is special for her family, but her birth is special for the staff involved and other women too.

"Everything was aligned and I got the birth that I wanted," she added.

El Alti praised staff at University Hospital Wishaw for agreeing to take on the challenge, and said she hoped it would encourage other women to investigate giving birth that way.

She added: "I was anxious to have a maternal-assisted procedure to give me a vital sense of difference, empowerment and control because the caesarean births of my first two children were highly traumatic.

"I was prepared to go anywhere in the UK."

She was speaking at a meeting of the board of NHS Lanarkshire to discuss the experience.

El Alti discovered NHS Lanarkshire already had a policy for "gentle method" C-sections that don't involve the mum assisting but include a slower delivery, the woman seeing the birth, and immediate skin-to-skin contact.

She found a woman in England who had given birth the maternal-assisted way, and put her midwife in touch with NHS Lanarkshire.

El Alti, a lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University, became pregnant for the first time when studying in Sweden.

She was in great pain during the birth, and said she had suffered "obstetric violence" - where a pregnant woman's needs and pain are ignored during birth.

She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.

When she gave birth to her second child, in the UK, she found parts of the birth plan - intended to help with her PTSD - were breached or not implemented, leaving her traumatised.

Trudi Marshall, NHS Lanarkshire's executive nurse director, said the health board was proud of staff for stepping out of their comfort zone to help El Alti with the birth.