Newly Qualified Paramedic (NQP) Kriss Spencer’s little boy Noah was born in August last year, at just 29 weeks of pregnancy. He shares his family story with the consent of his partner, Molly, to raise awareness of premature births from a parent’s point of view.

Rewind 14 months and what started as an ordinary Thursday for Kriss on his shift at work ended up being one of the most traumatic times that he and Molly have ever faced.

Kriss, who is based at Crewe ambulance station, said, “Molly was 29 weeks pregnant and had felt the baby move less than usual. She went to our local hospital and ended up being triaged by the maternity teams for further investigation.”

At this point, Kriss, who was nearing the end of his emergency medical technician (EMT) to paramedic apprenticeship, received a call and had to leave work to get to Leighton Hospital.

He continued, “The midwife did the initial assessments. Molly was hooked up to a cardiotocography machine, which monitors the baby’s heart rate and uterine contractions during pregnancy and labour. We knew something wasn’t right as she went to get her colleague. When the consultant came in, alarm bells rang in our heads as he told us he wasn’t happy with the baby’s heart rate. The consultant spoke to another colleague, and they decided they needed to take action.

“Molly was cannulated and given medication to protect the baby’s lungs. She had an emergency scan which revealed that our baby was undersized and the placenta wasn’t working efficiently.

“By Saturday, they informed us that we were going to have to prepare for a caesarean birth immediately. At 10:51pm Noah was born at 29 weeks and two days, weighing a tiny 905 grams.”

Noah was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit and intubated. While Molly was receiving care from the midwifery team, Kriss sat with his newborn, comforting him as best he could through the incubator’s perspex. Soon after, Noah was transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital, where he stayed for a week.

It was here Kriss and Molly took some comfort from a nurse who reassured the pair that whilst Noah was where he was, everything was working as it should. He was just so incredibly tiny, and he needed to grow stronger.

Once Noah was extubated and breathing by himself, he was able to go back to Leighton Hospital, where he spent the first three months of his life.

Talking about what happened, Kriss says, “Nobody can prepare you for what was such a traumatic event for us. No amount of EMT or paramedic training helps you deal with the situation and what is happening.

“We coped because we had no other choice but to cope, as people do in lots of different circumstances. There were times when it nearly broke us. It was so hard for me to see Molly on the day that he was born, having to go through the torment of leaving him in a different room. But the reality was she had just had major surgery and needed to rest, and Noah needed to be in intensive care. Noah was three days old before we were both able to hold him which was so difficult as parents.”

Noah was discharged from the hospital at the end of November 2023 and spent until the end of June 2024 on home oxygen. He is now thriving having been on his first holiday to Tenerife with mum and dad. Kriss said, “He is the cheekiest little chap and always has the biggest smile on his face, even when he is full of cold. He is our little fighter.”

Kriss graduated his apprenticeship without delay, a testament to his character, and is enjoying his role as an NQP. “‘I’ve shared our story from a dad’s perspective as we are sometimes forgotten about in these situations, and it can seem a lonely place for a dad to be.

“My advice would be to speak up if you are struggling and share your feelings if you can with somebody. I did, and it helped me.”

*Tommy’s – the pregnancy and baby charity. It is now the largest UK charity researching the causes and prevention of pregnancy complications, miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth.