You start to experience strong contractions.
You get in the car,
ready to go to the hospital.
But it's rush hour
and as you’re stuck in traffic
you start to feel the urge to push.
There’s no time.
The baby is coming now.
So you better put the hazard lights on
and keep watching.
The risk of stillbirths
and death in newborns
is higher for babies that are born
before getting to the hospital.
They’re also more likely to end up
in the neonatal intensive care unit.
And since only about 4% of deliveries
happen on their due dates,
you'll definitely want to learn
how to cope with this situation.
A Manchester woman gave birth
in a Uber one day before
her baby was due.
She started feeling contractions
and called for a ride
to take her to the hospital.
But five minutes into the ride,
she felt her body pushing.
The driver pulled up outside
a nearby medical center.
But the baby's head was already visible,
and the woman wasn’t able to move.
So she gave birth
in the front seat of the car.
The doctors brought
the woman and her baby
inside and called for an ambulance.
While they waited,
the baby's temperature started dropping.
Since there weren’t any
blankets at the center,
the mom put her baby under her T-shirt.
Luckily the baby was OK.
But it would be safer to give birth
in a car if you carry an emergency bag
with items like pillows
to make the mother comfortable in the car,
a water bottle for washing your hands
and blankets to wrap the baby in.
Imagine a woman's in labor,
and you're driving her to the hospital.
And you realize
that despite your best efforts,
you won’t get there in time.
You'll need to pull over,
turn your hazard lights on
and help deliver the baby.
Help her get onto a flat surface,
like the back seat,
or recline the front seat.
Once she feels
the uncontrollable need
to push,
the baby is coming.
When you start to see the baby's head,
place your hands under it
and support it.
Guide the baby out into the blanket,
but don’t pull the baby out.
Once both shoulders are out,
gently lift the baby slightly
towards the mother’s stomach
and the rest will come out.
Once the baby is born,
call for an ambulance.
The placenta will come out on its own
in the next 30 minutes.
Hopefully, that’ll happen
once help has arrived.
But if that’s not the case,
just leave the placenta next to the baby
after it comes out.
Do not cut the umbilical cord
that attaches it to the baby.
The placenta will still deliver
nutrients to the baby.
And cutting the cord
is the most dangerous part
of the delivery
since it can lead to hemorrhaging.
So wait for the paramedics.
After the placenta is delivered,
there might be some bleeding.
Typically, midwives give mothers
an oxytocin injection
that contracts the uterus
and stops the bleeding.
But since you don’t have that,
place the baby on the mother
so they are skin-to-skin.
This will release oxytocin
and help lessen the bleeding.
Births happen all the time,
all over the world.
And while it's essential to be prepared,
it is also important to remember
that the mother's body
knows how to do the job.
If you start giving birth,
stay calm and listen to
what your body is telling you.
It knows when to push and when to stop.
Once you and your baby
are in the hands of medical professionals,
let them take care of the situation.
Congratulations!
You just gave birth in a vehicle!
Now you feel like
you can survive anything.
But remember,
feeding and changing your newborn
is going to keep you up
all hours of the night.
Soon, you’ll realize
that you’re barely getting
three hours of sleep per night.
What can you do
to survive the rest of your day?
Find out here
on How to Survive.