No matter how perfectly detailed your birthing plan is, there is always scope to be taken by surprise – and this is exactly what happened to the Gardners with the birth of their first child, earlier this week.
New mum Priscilla Perry Gardner has come in for major praise, after sharing the story of how she delivered her own baby while her frantic husband Joe drove her to hospital.
Dad Joe, from Louisiana, shared the dramatic tale of daughter Grace’s birth with local news site Nola.com, hailing his wife as a total ‘bad ass’.
According to the report, Priscilla and Joe only recently moved to a new town, although they still planned on welcoming their daughter at a hospital located about half an hour’s drive away.
When Priscilla’s water broke on Monday night, the couple leapt into action and believed that they would make it to the hospital in plenty of time. However, as Joe drove them down Interstate 10, they quickly realised that Baby Grace was not going to wait.
Indeed, Priscilla’s labour progressed very quickly indeed, with the tot’s head emerging just a few miles down the road. Even in her condition, Priscilla chose not to tell her husband that Grace was making her appearance, as she didn’t want to concern him!
It was a few miles later, and still 10 minutes away from the hospital, that Grace decided she could not wait any longer to greet the world.
“All of a sudden, her body just would not allow her to keep that baby in anymore. I just hear this whooshing, like all this water, and she reaches down with both of her hands and she grabs the baby out, and she pulls it onto her chest,” new dad Joe told Nola.com.
Out of instinct, Priscilla cleared Grace’s mouth and cleaned her eyes, and hospital staff took over once the couple entered the hospital doors.
Grace – who weighed in at 5lbs 1oz – is now doing well, along with her brave mum.
We’re not sure we would have been able to keep our cool in the same situation! Well done to Priscilla and Joe.
