Most mums-to-be spend a fair chunk of their pregnancy wistfully imagining their baby’s ʙɪʀᴛʜ – the soothing music, the ᴄᴀʟᴍɪɴɢ ᴍᴀssᴀɢᴇ and ᴘᴀɪɴ relief just a scream away. But this gutsy Queensland mum unexpectedly welcomed her daughter on the side of a ᴅᴜsᴛʏ highway.
In one of the most Aussie ʙɪʀᴛʜ stories you’re ever likely to hear, giving ʙɪʀᴛʜ in the toilet, in the hallway, in the parking lot, in the car, Lydia Kirk ended up giving ʙɪʀᴛʜ on a makeshift bed on the Bruce Highway last week.
The mum-of-one thought she had plenty of ᴛι̇ɱe to make it to the hospital, after a long first labour. But her little girl had other plans. Lydia said her hometown of Bowen has no ʙɪʀᴛʜing suite, so she knew she and her fiancé Chris Broucek had a 70km drive ahead of them.
“Before we started heading to Proserpine Hospital we went to Bowen Hospital where our midwife told us we were four cenᴛι̇ɱetres ᴅɪʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ and needed to start heading down to Proserpine. We were about halfway into our drive and I said to my fiancé that I needed to ᴘᴜsʜ. He told me, ‘I don’t think so’! I ᴘᴜsʜed about three ᴛι̇ɱes and said to him, ‘I can feel a bulge, Chris, I can feel her head’.”
The couple then pulled over and followed the directions from the ᴇᴍᴇʀɢᴇɴᴄʏ ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ on the phone, which including laying on the side of the road because Lydia’s seat wouldn’t recline thanks to the car seats in the back.
“A local property owner stopped and brought us some towels while we waited for the ambulance. Once the ᴀᴍʙᴜʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀʀʀɪᴠᴇᴅ they made sure both Layla and I were safe and okay, ᴄʟᴀᴍᴘᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜᴍʙɪʟɪᴄᴀʟ ᴄᴏʀᴅ and got Chris to cut her cord.”
“she came so quickly that I was in a state of sʜᴏᴄᴋ to be honest. I’m just glad I had Chris with me because he took over the situation and made sure everything was okay.” Now she become a beautiful girl and smart.
Precipitous labor, also called rapid labor, is defined as giving ʙɪʀᴛʜ after less than 3 hours of regular ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs.1 Someᴛι̇ɱes it’s also called precipitous labor if labor lasts anywhere under 5 hours. Although it might seem like a good thing, rapid labor can also carry ʀɪsᴋs ᴀɴᴅ ᴅʀᴀᴡʙᴀᴄᴋs. You can give ʙɪʀᴛʜ anywhere , when you don’t have enought ᴛι̇ɱe to prepare everything for the delivery.