A baby boy, blue and limp after falling in the family swimming pool, was brought back to life by members of the public after his mother ran onto Tahunanui Drive screaming for help.
Anita McGregor, of Richmond, was driving to Nelson with her sister and a friend at around 11.45 on Sunday morning, when she saw a woman come running onto the road with a limp and lifeless baby in her arms.
“I saw the young girl come running out with bubs in her arms screaming for help, so we just slammed on our brakes,” says Anita, who had completed a first aid course earlier this year.
“He was pretty blue. He felt like a dummy really, he was just flopped over my arm. There was nothing, no life there.”
Anita took the baby – who is 11 months old – off the mother and went inside where, with the help of two other women, she performed CPR on the baby and helped the baby breath again.
“It must have taken at least a minute, but it seemed so long. Finally he started crying and breathing,” she says.
Anita says the parents of the boy were distraught as they worked on their son. “She was just screaming really, I cuddled her to say ‘it’s ok, he’s breathing’.”
A St John ambulance arrived and took the baby boy to Nelson Hospital.
A spokesperson from the hospital said on Monday that he was in a stable condition.
Another one of the ladies who helped perform CPR told Anita that she had just finished a first aid course last week.
Police attended the scene and spokesperson Barbara Dunn says the boy was found face-down in the pool by a family member.
Nelson City Council says a recent audit of the property’s swimming pool found several items that needed addressing.
“The owner was made aware of what was needed and corresponded promptly with both the council and his property manager to have the items addressed,” says the council’s communications manager Paul Shattock.
He says the incident brings home the importance of having swimming pools fenced properly.
“Even where barriers are provided, they must remain and continue to be fully compliant to ensure safety of occupants, future occupants and visitors to houses with pools,” he says.
