Newborn named after midwife following ‘remarkable’ delivery

A couple from east Leeds, Raegan Thomas (33) and Neil McCluskey (37), found their daughter’s name during her birth, despite having been 90% certain in September that their second child would be named Rosie. The couple, like many expectant parents, dedicated a significant portion of the pregnancy to considering names, even utilizing a dedicated application. Ms Thomas stated: “We went through about a million names and we’d had an app on the phone where you both swipe for different baby names.” She also noted, “I’m a paediatric nurse and my partner’s a teacher, so it’s very difficult to come up with children’s names because we come across a lot of children.” Ms Thomas, who is also a mother to a four-year-old daughter named Anabelle, was admitted to Leeds General Infirmary due to gestational diabetes. Her labor was induced on September 21, and she was attended by midwife Lydia Milner and a student midwife, who was also named Lydia. Ms Thomas recalled a comment from the midwife: “I’m sure Lydia the midwife made a comment like: ‘If we do a really good job maybe you will go for Lydia instead of Rosie,'” She further explained that the labor proved challenging and escalated to a “quite dangerous” situation due to worries about the baby’s heart rate. Ms Thomas described the critical moment: “That was when Lydia the midwife kicked in and had to do an intervention to push the baby back inside me to get the blood flowing in the umbilical cord again,” Following this, Ms Thomas was moved to theatre for an emergency forceps delivery, resulting in the healthy birth of baby Lydia, who weighed 8lb (3.6kg). Ms Thomas characterized the midwife as “remarkable” and praised her for being “really vigilant” throughout the entire birthing process. Ms Thomas commented on the severity of the situation, stating: “Being a paediatric nurse, I know that without oxygen it can end really badly with a fatal situation or profound disabilities, but baby Lydia is perfect.” She added, “When she was born she was a bit purple but they got her crying pretty quickly.” Ms Thomas concluded, “I felt it wouldn’t be right not to go with that name as a good luck charm.” Midwife Lydia Milner expressed that it was a privilege to assist in baby Lydia’s birth. She remarked: “As midwives we are trained to be well prepared for emergencies that can happen during birth, and I’m pleased we could act quickly to ensure baby Lydia’s safe arrival.” Milner also shared her feelings about the naming decision: “Hearing that Raegan and her family chose to name their baby after me was incredibly touching – it’s something I’ll never forget,” For further content, listeners can access highlights from West Yorkshire via BBC Sounds, view the most recent episode of Look North, or submit potential story ideas. This material is copyrighted by the BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC explicitly states it does not bear responsibility for the content found on external websites and provides information regarding its policy on external linking.