'Half-naked in front of 20 people': Mum's quick birth in toilet cubicle

Mrs Boyle, of Muswellbrook, had planned to give birth to Harvey at Singleton Hospital, but she knew her labour was "happening way too quickly".

"So we stopped at Muswellbrook," Mrs Boyle said.

The hospital stopped delivering babies in March 2022 after the departure of a GP visiting medical officer.

It was November 2022 when Mrs Boyle's rapid labour happened.

"I was half-naked in front of 20 people in the emergency department," she said.

"I was holding onto the back of the wheelchair screaming in pain."

Staff directed her to a bed, but she needed to go to the toilet.

"We birthed him in the toilet cubicle, just my husband and I."

She gave birth to Harvey 13 minutes after she left home, which is three minutes from the hospital.

She said the hospital staff were "amazing afterwards".

"But they are just not equipped there for births or maternity."

Mrs Boyle is part of the Mothers of Muswellbrook, a group seeking to reopen the hospital's maternity ward.

Their change.org petition, which has 1270 signatures, calls for an obstetrician, local birthing options, a midwifery group practice and publicly-funded home births.

Women in Muswellbrook can give birth at Scone or Singleton, but the mothers feel they are too far away.

Those who need a higher level of care can give birth at Maitland or John Hunter hospitals.

Paige Sawkins, who started the petition, said Muswellbrook "deserves a maternity ward and continuity of care for expectant mothers".

Mrs Sawkins said Muswellbrook was "a thriving mining town contributing billions to our economy".

Mrs Boyle said midwives at Muswellbrook "have been screaming out for a midwifery practice and they've just been told no".

She said several other women had given birth in Muswellbrook Hospital's car park or emergency department in the past 12 months.

"I also have a girlfriend who birthed in the ambulance in front of Singleton Hospital," she said.

While Harvey's birth went well, she knows that "things can go wrong".

Her first daughter Darby was stillborn in 2016, after Mrs Boyle was in a car accident.

Medical errors were allegedly made in that incident, as Darby was bleeding in utero.

This led to an apology and different processes to prevent a similar incident.

Mrs Boyle's daughter Blake and son Hugh were born at John Hunter Hospital in 2018 and 2020, as it could "provide continuity of care".

A Hunter New England Health spokesperson acknowledged that "women want to give birth as close to home as possible".

"We apologise that this currently is not achievable at Muswellbrook Hospital."

The spokesperson said Muswellbrook provided some maternity services, such as antenatal and postnatal care and baby checks.

"We're committed to restoring birthing services at Muswellbrook Hospital as soon as we are safely able to do so."

The district had sought to "attract obstetrics coverage in Muswellbrook" for the past two years.

"Recruitment for obstetricians in rural and regional locations is an ongoing challenge faced nationally."

The NSW government has committed $45 million to stage three of the Muswellbrook Hospital redevelopment, but it does not include maternity.