With her newborn daughter resting on her chest straight after the birth, time stood still for Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell. Staring in wonder at baby Kahumoa Caroline Clancy, Tania and her husband Kanin were overcome with joy.
Just hours earlier, there’d been a moment of panic when, mid-labour, a fire alarm was accidentally activated at the hospital and Tania feared her private birth may have ended up being a very public one instead.
“All of the hospital staff were incredibly respectful and understood how important it was to keep the fact the mayor was giving birth confidential,” recalls Tania. “I was trying my best to be all relaxed and focused, then there was this sudden moment of shockhorror when the fire alarm went off! Thankfully, it was a false alarm, but here I was trying to comprehend that my supposed-to-be-confidential birth was potentially going to occur in the carpark in front of everyone.”
