Eight-day-old Kahleah Mills and parents Morgan Trudgett and Peta Mills are back at home after the 5lb bundle of joy was delivered along a dusty

roadside near Nevertire in the early hours of last Tuesday morning.

The warmth of the family home was a far cry from the icy one degree they and Ms Mills’ mother, Robyn Floyd, faced when young Kahleah was born on the back seat of their four-wheel drive.

The harrowing ordeal unfolded about 12.30am last Tuesday when Ms Mills began having contractions.

At 1.30am she was admitted to Cobar District Hospital to be told by staff to risk the drive to Bourke or make a three-hour mercy dash to Dubbo.

“The nurse put her hand on my belly and the doctor looked at me from the door and said to get in the car and go,” Ms Mills said.

“We could have gone to Bourke but we risked being turned away if there wasn’t a midwife available.”

The couple phoned Nyngan hospital to administer painkillers, but was turned away for lack of a midwife.

When a midwife became available the family was back on the road to Dubbo Ms Mills’ contractions were two minutes apart.

“I remember feeling more fear with every minute that passed ... this was absolutely the last thing I wanted to happen,” she said.

The couple had real concerns after Ms Mills was airlifted to Dubbo at 32 weeks in premature labour.

“I was really frightened to leave the house or do too much for fear it would bring on the labour again,” Ms Mills said.

But their worst fears were realised when about 3.30am the couple and Ms Floyd were forced to make an emergency stop five kilometres from Nevertire to deliver the baby.

Armed with only a few blankets and a pillow Mr Trudgett made a desperate call to 000 where ambulance officers talked the pair through the birth.

The panic-stricken family was cut off from help after the phone fell into long grass.

Emergency services retraced the call and ambulance crews were on the road some 30 minutes away.

By 3.45am Ms Floyd had delivered her daughter’s tiny baby girl.

“It just happened so fast,” she said.

“Nothing prepares you for something like that.”

The family was transported to Warren hospital where mother and child were stabilised before being taken to Dubbo by ambulance.

Kahleah spent her first 24 hours in intensive care so doctors could regulate her temperature after having been exposed to the cold.

The couple was amazed at the attention they received upon arrival at Warren hospital.

“The rest of the family were travelling behind us and when we arrived in Warren the staff was so focused on making sure everybody was alright,” Mr Trudgett said.

While the couple has praised the response from Warren hospital staff, their night of terror has cast serious doubts over Cobar’s health system.

They say the absence of obstetric services puts mothers and babies at risk of serious complications.

“We can sit back and laugh about it now but that’s only because we were very lucky,” Mr Trudgett said.

“Things could have gone horribly wrong.”