Woman Delivers Healthy Baby on Side of the Road With Her Kids Waiting in the Car

When a baby is ready to make their entrance into the world, they wait for no one. A Kentucky mom named Heather Skaats recently experienced this to the extreme; she gave birth on the side of the road while her other five children sat in the car. In a scene that could be a movie, Skaats delivered a healthy baby boy and then had to drive to her house to complete the birthing procedure.

Skaats was getting ready to run an errand with her kids when she noticed that she was having light contractions, but she figured she’d have time to complete the trip. Her due date was weeks away and her previous labors had been hours-long affairs. Assuming she’d “have a baby in her arms eight or 10 hours later,” the brood went on their way.

The outing didn’t go as planned, to say the least. Suddenly, Skaats’ contractions became more acute and closer together—a clear indication that the baby was ready to be born. “I was literally driving in the car with all the kids when I felt like I needed to pull over,” she explains on Facebook. “[I] got out of the car, went to the other side in the grass and literally had a baby. It was so quick!”

Skaats was able to catch the newborn as he arrived. “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 remembers. The mom and her kids then needed to get home as soon as possible because the boy was still attached to her. After a careful drive back to their house, Skaats delivered her placenta in the shower with help from her teenage daughter. Her midwife arrived shortly after.

Everyone is now happy and healthy at home. As for the baby's name, the family is still working on it. Two possibilities are Porter or Wolf, which are the streets near the little boy’s birth.

A baby ready to be born waits for no one—something Heather Skaats recently experienced this to the extreme.

She gave birth on the side of the road while her other five children sat in the car.

The baby boy was born healthy. “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 remembers.

The family is still deciding on a name. Two possibilities are Porter or Wolf, which are the streets near the little boy’s birthplace.

h/t: [Today]

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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