A woman who went into labour while swimming at Waiheke Island gave birth to a baby girl in a stranger's bedroom last night.
The woman was enjoying a dip at Oneroa Beach when she began having contractions.
She managed to walk to a nearby house, where resident Julia
Joly answered the door.
"I was just mopping the floor when I saw her - she didn't look too happy," said Ms Joly. "She said she was about to have a baby and asked me to call an ambulance."
Ms Joly took the woman into a bedroom and lay her down with a shower curtain covering the bed.
A local doctor and midwife arrived shortly after and the 2.5kg baby was born about an hour later.
"I opened some champagne and took a few pictures," said Ms Joly.
"The mother had a bit of champagne but she didn't drink much because she was still feeling a bit sick, but everybody was very, very happy."
The young mother, who was visiting the island, was taken with her baby by St John's ambulance staff to the Westpac rescue helicopter and flown to Auckland City Hospital for observation.
Ms Joly said that in her distress the mother - who has one other child - left her purse and clothes at the beach and appealed to anyone who may have found them to hand them in to the police.
