Ali's lucky last: ‘I DELIVERED MY BABY MYSELF!'

Don’t call the midwife – this TVNZ talent's got it all covered!

- Fiona Fraser

Ali Pugh is a great believer in knowing your body, understanding your limits and trusting your instincts. So when it became clear that the 1 News reporter and former Breakfast host’s adorable newborn daughter Jemima Goldie was coming, ready or not, she felt nothing but calm and confident.

“In the end, the midwife couldn’t make it in time, so I delivered her myself!” the 35-year-old laughs, the sheer beauty of that extraordinary moment clearly still sinking in.

Ali – who also home-birthed her older daughters Theadora, now five, and Heidi, two – says she and husband Jo Barus had always planned on having Jemima at home too.

“I’m absolutely not against hospitals or anything like that,” Christchurch-based Ali is quick to point out, “but home has always felt like the safest place for me. It’s worked really well with each of our births and it’s really nice not having to transport yourself somewhere else while you’re in pain.”

Jemima’s arrival began ordinarily enough. Ali spent a busy day with her girls and was ferrying her eldest to swimming when she felt the first pangs of labour. “So I got home and began trying to get all my ducks in a row – get the kids dinner, get them into bed – so I could have my baby.”

As she took a moment to lie with Heidi and settle her to sleep, Ali’s contractions were suddenly so intensely painful, she needed to get up and brace against the wall.