A woman who gave birth in a car on the side of the road has spoken about the 'scary' experience after her mother and sister delivered her baby. Lorien Williams, 24 from Swansea was pregnant with her second child in the summer of last year when her waters broke ten days before her due date, Wales Online reports.
Her sister, Deanna, rushed her to hospital in her car alongside their mother, Hayley, but halfway through the journey it became apparent that little Harper-Rae could not wait any longer and would have to be born in the vehicle. Deanna contacted emergency services while superhero mum, Hayley, delivered her granddaughter safe and sound on a blanket in the front seat of the car.
Six months on Lorein and little Harper are healthy and happy as the mum-of-two has spoken of the terrifying experience that has brought them closer together as a family. She said: "It was such a scary experience as there were no professionals there. I was worried the baby would come out not breathing, but I'm so glad that my mother and sister were there.
"We were close anyway, but it feels like this experience has brought us closer together. I don't know what I would've done without them. The last six months have been good, Harper-Rae is good as gold and is always smiling."
On a hot summer's day in August last year, Lorien had been tidying up her house and garden while her three-year-old daughter Ruby was playing when her water broke. She said: "I phoned my sister and I was crying on the phone to her.
"It was just me and my eldest daughter on our own in the house. She told me not to panic.
"I then phoned the hospital and they told me I could either go down there in an hour, or I could go down there in four hours just because my water was trickling and it hadn't gone fully.
"I waited the four hours as I had my daughter here." Lorien then went for two sweeps at Singleton Hospital but was sent home on both occasions before she began to experience extreme pain in the late hours of the evening.
She continued: "By this point, my mum, sister and aunty were at home with me. While my aunty was set to look after my eldest daughter, my sister decided she would drive me to the hospital and my mother would be with me.
"I was in quite a lot of pain when we left the house. Looking back, I realise we left it too long by then to actually go to the hospital. We got into the car and my sister started driving.
"We went a long the road and that's when I started to scream and say that I needed to push." Her mother, Hayley suggested they pulled over on the side of the road while Deanna called an ambulance but emergency services were not there fast enough. According to Hayley Williams, aged 54, everything happened very quickly.
She said: "One minute she was fine - bouncing on the ball in the house as if it was nothing, and then the next she went from a 0 to a 100 and we had to take her to the car. I was in the back with Lorien and then she started screaming in agony and saying that the baby was coming.
"Eventually, I said that we had to pull over as I knew we wouldn't get there in time. We pulled up, I got out and got Lorien to the front of the car while Deanna called 999 and it was just nuts from then.
"The emergency service over the phone told me to put my hands between her legs to prevent the baby from coming out too fast. Luckily, before we had left the house we saw a blanket on a chair.
"Deanna joked that she'd bring it with her just in case the baby would come out sooner than expected. Turns out we actually needed and we ended up using that blanket during the birth.
She added: "I've always been there for my daughters when they've given birth, but I've never actually given birth myself - I've had five caesareans. I don't even know what it's like to give birth.
"I felt like I had no experience at all, but in that instance, I think you just go into auto mode, you know? You don't think, you know it's something you have to do.
"It was really scary and I was so nervous, but when Harper-Rae came it was amazing. I just wanted to lift her up and give her to my daughter, but the cord was wrapped around her neck.
"I didn’t see it at first - it was Deanna that saw it. We managed to get it off and she started to cry, and we gave her to Lorien.”
Harper-Rae Williams was born at 3:06am on August 9. An ambulance arrived at the scene shortly after the birth and Lorien and her newborn baby were taken to Singleton Hospital.
Six months on, both mother and child are doing well, with three-year-old Ruby enjoying life as a big sister as Lorien says the intimate experience brought them all closer together. Meanwhile Hayley said she loves being a grandmother-of-nine and that birthing her granddaughter was a 'very emotional experience'.
She added: “I haven’t considered being a midwife, that experience was enough for me. It’s amazing to have another granddaughter - every time she sees me, she has a grin on her face.
"My advice for anyone that finds themselves in a similar situation is just to listen to the mother, so many times they are not listened to. They know their bodies and they know their babies too."
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