Former vet nurse delivers baby boy

A Cape Town estate agent who was showing a house in Table View put her skills as a former veterinary nurse to use when she helped to deliver a woman’s baby on the property.

Kim Hansen told New24 she has lost count of the number of animals she has helped birth, but overwhelmed at the thought of having helped a human child enter the world.

According to Jansen, she arrived at the house to conduct the viewing on Friday at approximately 4pm and heard screams she described as “gut-wrenching” coming from the nearby granny flat.

She requested that her clients return for the viewing at another time, and saw them off before trying to find the occupants of the flat who were causing the commotion.

“The man said he was trying to call an ambulance. When I went to look what was happening, I found the domestic worker standing on her feet, in the process of giving birth in the bathroom,” Hansen said.

“The baby was halfway out. Knowing what I know about the ambulance service in this country, I realised that the baby would be born before they even got there,” she added. “As an ex-veterinary nurse, I asked myself how much different could it be to give birth to a human? I requested gloves and the only ones they had was from a hair dye kit. It was good enough because we managed to deliver a beautiful baby boy.”

She attempted to cut the baby’s umbilical cord with a string because the clothing peg she had previously tried was not tight enough, and told herself not to panic. The baby boy was born small, but of healthy colouring.

“It was divine intervention – I was meant to be there. I would never leave someone who was in need of help,” Hansen said. “It was a blessing to have been part of this; I am humbled.”