A woman has spoken of her experience giving birth in a car on the side of the road with the aid of her mother and sister. 24-year-old Lorien Williams from the Morriston area of Swansea was pregnant with her second child in the summer of last year.
Ten days before her due date however, Lorien's water broke and she was rushed to hospital in her sister Deanna's car with their mother Hayley at her side. Half way through the journey however, it became clear that little Harper-Rae couldn't wait any longer and was delivered in Deanna's car.
Six months on, Lorien and her mother Hayley have spoken of the "scary" experience that they say has brought them closer together as a family. "My pregnancy was really good," Lorien told WalesOnline. "But as it was my second, I found that it was a lot harder. I had a lot more aches and pains, everything felt so heavy."
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On a hot summer's day in early August, Lorien was busy sorting out her house and garden while her three-year-old daughter, Ruby, was playing. As Lorien was busy tidying up however, her water was breaking.
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 then sent home on both occasions. It was only in the late hours of the evening that she began to experience pain.
"By this point, my mum, sister and aunty were at home with me," she explained. "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 that they pulled over on the side of the road while Deanna called an ambulance. According to Hayley Williams, aged 54, everything happened very quickly. “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," the mum-of-five said.
"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.
"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. Hayley explained that towards the end of the delivery, an ambulance that was sent out for another call arrived at the scene, with their ambulance arriving quickly afterwards. Lorien and her newborn baby were swiftly transferred to Singleton Hospital.
Six months on, both mother and child are doing well, with three-year-old Ruby adapting well to being a big sister. According to Lorien, the experience has brought the family closer together. 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."
Meanwhile, Hayley said she was enjoying being a grandmother of nine. She said: "For days following the birth, I was just in total shock. It was a very emotional experience but scary as well, I'm so glad a good outcome came out of it.
“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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