When a home birth turned into a resuscitation emergency, a single video call became the ultimate lifeline for a newborn fighting for his first breaths.
South Africa (14 March 2026) – The thing about an emergency is that it will strike at any time, anywhere and more often than not… in the worst circumstances. One thing is for certain, though: action is required immediately.
When a new mom who had just given birth at home noticed her newborn struggling to breathe, those who had been assisting with the delivery did the only thing they could think of in that critical moment: dial the Netcare 911 emergency line.
Answering that urgent call were the critical care coordinator, Janeldi Botha, and the case manager, Ayanda Mkhulisi, at the emergency operations centre. Noticing the dire situation, they connected via video call with bystanders who were with the mother and baby, allowing them to see the baby and assess his condition remotely. As an initial step, Janeldi and Ayanda advised the person who was with the mother to stimulate the baby by drying him quickly and clearing the newborn’s airway.
Still, the baby was fighting for breath, and time was running out.
“To make it as easy as possible for the person on the scene to follow the instructions, we demonstrated each step on an infant-sized mannequin, and Ayanda explained every step to her in vernacular to eliminate any chance of misunderstanding when time was so critical for the baby’s survival,” Janeldi explained.
Ayanda said that once the baby was positioned on his back on a firm surface, they used their infant mannequin to illustrate exactly where the compression placement should be.
They also showed the caller exactly how to tilt the head back and give the baby small rescue breaths, while she followed the instructions to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Janeldi and Ayanda are trained to manage the clinical situation and also to cope with the emotional stress that callers understandably face when confronted with such an emergency.
“Using the video call allows us to communicate a lot of quite detailed information much more quickly than a phone call alone, and this means callers can understand and follow our instructions with greater precision. They act as our hands to save a life at the scene of the emergency before the professionals can arrive,” Ayanda said.
After careful guidance and 20 minutes of continuous infant CPR, the newborn baby started making healthy cooing sounds and showed spontaneous breathing, bringing what we can only imagine would have been the biggest wave of relief for everyone in that room.
“We were absolutely overjoyed. He was out of danger, and so we asked the woman to focus on rubbing him to stimulate his blood flow and wrap him up to keep him warm.”
Thanks to the advanced emergency call and geolocation functions on the Netcare App, an emergency vehicle was able to locate the precise location of the family.
“We could hear the sirens in the background as our colleagues arrived on scene with an ambulance. It’s moments like these that make this one of the most rewarding jobs. For members of the public, you never know when you might be called on to be someone’s hero in their time of need, and we are here to hold your hand every step of the way,” Janeldi concluded.
We’re so glad this crisis was met with the right connection, remarkably saving a little miracle in need.
Sources: Netcare Limited
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