The pregnant woman was out running an errand with her five other children in the car when she suddenly began experiencing contractions. Unfortunately, the pregnant mom was unable to get to a hospital in time, so she ended up giving birth alone on the side of the road while her kids remained seated in the car. “I was literally driving in the car with all the kids when I felt like I needed to pull over. Got out of the car, went to the other side in the grass and literally had a baby. It was so quick! I only thought these things happened in movies! I then proceeded to drive to the house with him still attached where my midwives arrived about 10 minutes later. And then we had to pick the grass off him.” the lucky mom said.
“I was having light contractions before we left, so I figured I had time to run an errand,” the 34-year-old mother from Kentucky, Heather Skaats, reportedly told TODAY. Skaats also said that her due date was three weeks away and that she had experienced hours-long labor while birthing her other children. “I thought I wouldn’t have a baby in my arms until eight or ten hours later,” she said.
Unfortunately, on Sunday, things didn’t go as the pregnant mom had expected them to. All of a sudden her contractions intensified, indicating that labor had begun. At that point, Skaats started driving faster hoping to make it in time to have a home water birth as planned but she soon realized that there won’t be enough time for it. “I pulled over — assured the kids that everything was OK — and then I grabbed my phone and got out of the van,” said Skaats recalling the incident.
Skaats also told TODAY that she was in a squat position when her water broke. “I put my hand down there and his head started coming out with his body. I didn’t even have to push. It was so quick. I was on the phone with my husband, Nick, and 20 seconds later, I was like, ‘He’s here!'” she noted.
Even during the stressful moment, the mother kept her calm and catch her little baby as he made his way into the world. “He started crying right away, and he just opened his eyes and looked at me and I said, ‘Yeah, buddy that was fun, huh?'” she said of her infant who weighed seven pounds. Then Skaats got back into her car holding the baby, who was still attached to her placenta inside her mom’s body.
“I wrapped him in a blanket and drove with him close to my chest, I think the kids were in shock. They were pretty quiet,” she said. Once home, the mother finally delivered her placenta in the shower with the help of her eldest child and her midwife arrive soon after.
The lucky mom also shared the one of a kind experience on her social media account. She reportedly wrote:
“Well, I had another wonderful water birth planned at home just as I had in the past. That didn’t go as planned. I was literally driving in the car with all the kids when I felt like I needed to pull over.
Got out of the car, went to the other side in the grass and literally had a baby. It was so quick! I only thought these things happened in movies! I then proceeded to drive to the house with him still attached where my midwives arrived about 10 minutes later. And then we had to pick the grass off him.
I’m still in shock that I delivered my own baby on the side of the road. But he is perfect, all of the kids are happy to have him here, and today was a day I will never forget. My husband is not too happy about missing it but at least he was on the phone with me when I called to say “I’m going to have a baby on the side of the road” and 5 seconds later he came out.
Just for reference, when I started driving, I was having some lighter contractions. In my previous births, I didn’t have a baby in my arms until 8ish hours later. I was literally just out in the barn feeding horses 20 minutes before he came out. It was that fast.”