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When Rhiannon Twycross went into the beginning of what would be a 25-hour labour, she and her partner Michael didn’t realise they’d be taking part in a little bit of Mudgee history too.
After 31 years, Dr Peter Roberts, GP Obstetrician, has closed the book on deliveries, having birthed generations of Mudgee families and even the author of this story.
Read also | A wave of support for Doctor Peter Roberts
He isn’t leaving medical practice just yet however, rather changing focus as his career matures.
Despite not meeting him previously, Rhiannon was ultimately thrilled to have Dr Roberts on hand when she needed it most during the birth of her son, Finn in December last year.
“I’d not met him [Dr Roberts] previously but he was the on-call doctor the night I was giving birth to Finn,” Rhiannon said.
“We’d had a pretty traumatic experience up to that point, but then Dr Roberts swooped in, and just made it all good. It stopped feeling traumatic in any way.”
Rhiannon and Michael praised Dr Roberts’ quick-thinking and professionalism.
“We were pretty horrified with the whole situation around surgery but he did make it reassuring.”
- Rhiannon Twycross
“We were in labour for about 24 hours and he came in said ‘it wasn’t going to plan’ and he goes ‘we’ll give it another hour and see what happens’. He came back in in about 20 minutes and said ‘look, it isn’t gonna happen, it’s a cesarean’,” Michael said.
“We were pretty horrified with the whole situation around surgery but he did make it reassuring.”
”We were up and out of there, I was very surprised how with the situation we were in, you could just tell he’s been doing it for years.”
Michael and Rhiannon’s son, Finn, was born at 4.58am on December 12 after 25 hours.
The excited parents consider themselves lucky they were able to unwillingly take part in the final delivery in a 31-year obstetrics career for Dr Roberts.
“It was good. Especially the day after, he was so excited to see Finn. He had his photo taken and knew this is virtually his last and then just to see his excitement of his wife who was taking photos was great.” Michael said.
Both parents wanted to express their gratitude to Dr Roberts for everything he did to help.
“He was lovely and very caring with the after care and to see how I was going and how Finn was,” Rhiannon said.
“To me I’d thank him for coming. We were exhausted but for him to just walk in and in five minutes take control and put everyone at ease and just get it done was just amazing.” Michael said.