5 thoughts on “Birthing While Driving”

  1. I agree that this is a great story about how women can just birth without all the medical hoopla. She says it was no big deal. The media does like to sensationalize. However, a medal? I don’t think so. She was giving birth while driving seems dangerous to me. I think at least pulling over to the side of the road would be prudent. She put herself and her family at risk along with others driving the road. Talk about distracted driving! I’m all for natural birth..believe that home birth is as safe (or safer in some instances) but that does not excuse her actions as far as driving is concerned. Sorry.

  2. Good point about not being safe. I think she was in the parking lot when the baby was born? Not speeding down the highway?

    But true, she wouldn’t win any safe driving medals, that is for sure!

    But birthing medals? I would say yes.

  3. I do give her cudos for her birth, but she was actually driving. She put the cruise control on and had her husband hold the steering wheel while she pushed the baby out. Apparently he cannot drive as he has a seizure disorder. 🙂

  4. I thought the same thing when I read it: how stupid and dangerous for her to actually have a baby while driving! I mean, good for her to go all natural but freakin pull over to the side of the road. She was literally going down the highway at 70mph…even if her husband was steering I’m sure he was a bit distraced. I’m sure she might have been a bit scatterbrained and not thought to pull over herself, but shouldn’t her husband have given her the idea?

    I’m not sure but one of the videos I saw on it implied that they had a toddler aged son in the backseat at the time too. That just adds a whole new level of dangerous.

  5. There had to be some denial going on. I have to think she would not have been driving if she had any inkling how close to birth she was. I also think it shows how ingrained it is that you *have* to be in a hospital or else when the baby comes. I have a friend who had a super-fast labor for #2 kick in after an acupuncture treatment (she was ‘overdue’ and using it to trigger labor– supposedly usually it takes a day to kick in). 45 mins after the treatment, her baby was born in a cab rushing to the hospital. I told her ‘I’m surprised you got in the car considering how intense your labor was.’ and she said ‘well, if I’d stayed at home, they (paramedics) would have made me go to (nearest hospital with not-so-great reputation).’ So her mindset was ‘get to the right hospital fast!’ rather than ‘uh, screw the car, this baby is coming now!’ Considering she and the baby were fine, I also think she probably could have requested whatever hospital she wanted but I’m sure she wasn’t thinking rationally at that point. 🙂

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