A young girl in County Cork has won praise for helping her mother as she delivered her baby sister at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Her mother Emma Hartnett, went into labour a fortnight early and gave birth at her home in Ballincollig two weeks ago.
She told The Pat Kenny Show this morning that she initially hoped to hold off on moving to the hospital until her labour was at an advanced stage.
In the end she said “it really is up to the baby when she comes” and baby Ali arrived just 40 minutes after Emma’s waters broke in the morning.
Important job
It meant eight-year-old Leah had a “very hands on” introduction to her new baby sister.
She told Pat that she had a very important job that morning.
“Well after she was born, I got the bigger job of to look out for the ambulance for when it was coming,” she said.
“We live in an apartment so they couldn’t get in from the cold so I went down the stairs and opened the gate for them so they could get in and told them everything they needed to know about the baby.”
Helping out
She said she has been helping out with nappies and chores ever since her sister arrived.
“I am changing a few of them but I am not doing them all on my own,” she said. “I am doing some other jobs as well.”
She now can’t wait to tell her younger sister the story of the day she was born.
“I’d say she will be happy about it and she will be very proud of it,” she said.
Mother Emma said her husband Jonah “played his part very well” throughout the experience.
