Thanks for saving baby Mayah's life

Jennifer Iskandar’s pregnancy had been difficult and she unexpectedly went into labour at her Bridlington home - 15 weeks early.

Her mum Deborah Purvis called 999 and baby Mayah was born in a breech position with the umbilical cord around her neck on the way to Scarborough Hospital

She was not breathing and had a deteriorating heart rate but the ambulance crew – Sam Berridge and Mark Ibbetson - spent the next 15 minutes of the journey resuscitating the tiny new arrival.

A full medical team was on standby to meet Mayah at the emergency department in Scarborough, before she was transferred to the high-dependency special care baby unit before being moved to Hull Royal Infirmary.

Jennifer’s husband Dudi, who spends half of the year working in Indonesia as a dive master, flew back to the UK when he heard the news.

She said: “We just wanted to meet them to thank them for saving her life – if it hadn’t been for them, Mayah wouldn’t be here today. I can’t put into words how grateful we are. They were incredible.”

Mayah was born last May weighing just 890g - just under 2lbs.

She spent more than 100 days in hospital and was eventually discharged in September. The family says she is making good progress and it is hoped she will be weaned off low-flow oxygen by March.

“It’s been a whirlwind eight months,” said Jennifer, who also has a two-year-old called Remy. “I really thought I was going to lose her so for her to still be here and fighting is a miracle.”

Jennifer, Deborah and Mayah, who now weighs a healthy 12lbs, are hoping for another get together with the crew for a slice of birthday cake when Mayah reaches one on May 31.

Sam said: “It was great to see the family again in very different circumstances and it’s heart-warming to realise that we made such a difference to their lives.

“We are delighted that Mayah is expected to live a normal life with no consequences of the premature delivery and absence of breathing and a heart rate until resuscitation.

“After the incident, we were contacted by a paediatric consultant who congratulated us on what we did and wanted to meet to discuss the case which is being used as a real-life example of neonatal resuscitation for premature babies at training events.”