Baby reunited with London paramedic who saved her life

Fia Siciliano was born last October following an incredibly tense emergency response led by London Ambulance Service paramedic Katie Vaughan.

While collecting her daughter from school, Fia's mother, Therese Siciliano, began to suffer heavy bleeding.

Ms Siciliano, who was 39 weeks pregnant at the time, said: "I have never been so scared in my life.

"I was doing my level best to keep it together, but for sure believed that my little girl wasn’t going to survive."

In immediate response to the situation, father David quickly dialled 999, leading to Katie's rapid arrival.

Ms Siciliano said: "In the ambulance I was already preparing for the worst possible outcome and telling my husband 'we need to be ready for this baby not being alive'."

Yet, the medical team at St George’s Hospital in South London detected Fia’s heartbeat, a moment that Katie Vaughan described as a career-defining.

The paramedic said: "I was 95 per cent sure that Fia wasn’t going to make it.

"When we heard the heartbeat, it took every bit of strength for me to stop the tears of joy rolling down my face."

At 7am the following day, Ms Siciliano gave birth to baby Fia who weighed 10lbs and 6oz, and was healthy.

Mum Therese sent a heartfelt letter of gratitude to the paramedic (Image: London Ambulance Service)

Shortly after the traumatic birth, the mum-of-two sent a heart-warming letter of gratitude to the London Ambulance Service, commending Ms Vaughan's exceptional care.

Therese Siciliano said: "Katie made me feel so safe and comfortable.

"I will always remember and cherish the hug she gave me at the hospital after we found out Fia had made it.

"Women looking after women, mother to mother and human to human, I needed that hug and she saw it.

"Thank you for making a terrible time something I can look back on and still remember beautifully."

This heartfelt moment was celebrated in an emotional reunion at Wimbledon Ambulance Station.

Each year, the London Ambulance Service receives around 13,000 pregnancy-related emergency calls.

They were the first ambulance trust in the UK to establish a maternity team and have been training medics and call handlers since 2015.

Camella Main, Lead Midwife at London Ambulance Service, said: "Bleeding heavily after 20 weeks of pregnancy can be very scary.

"I am in awe of Therese and David for staying so calm and quickly calling for help.

"We have invested a lot of training and resources on teaching ambulance staff how to recognise this type of emergency and act as quickly as possible to save the baby’s life.

"I am so proud of Katie for doing such an incredible job and contributing to an amazing outcome."