Dr. Amanda Hess was preparing to give birth to her second baby at Frankfort Regional Medical Center Kentucky, USA. But, as she was sat waiting in her hospital room, she heard shouts from another woman nearby.

Speaking to TV station WKYT, Hess explains: “I just put on another gown to cover up my backside and put on some boots over my shoes, to keep from getting any fluid and all that stuff on me, and went down to her room.”

In a pretty incredible turn of events, Hess soon realised that the woman struggling was actually one of her own patients. In fact, she had seen Leah Halliday-Johnson just the week before for her final pre-natal appointment – and, at the time, all had been well.

However, Halliday-Johnson’s pregnancy had moved along at a faster pace than previously expected: less than an hour after being admitted to hospital, she was ready to give birth.

Worse still, her unborn baby had become distressed after the umbilical cord became wrapped around its neck, transforming a difficult situation into an incredibly dangerous one. And, as the mum-of-four tells PEOPLE magazine, the situation was further compounded by the fact that her on-call doctor was away on his break

Awe-inspiring doctor delivers patient's baby - while in labour herself