A couple have recalled the dramatic moment their baby was born by the side of the motorway, and how they saved his life moments afterwards, thanks to dad's quick thinking.
Gayla Thompson had no idea she'd been in labour for two whole days, until her contractions became increasingly intense while in the car dropping off her five-year-old son Conor with husband Ryan.
After taking Conor to where he needed to be, the couple headed towards the hospital, but 20 minutes into the journey, Gayla found herself in full labour and begged her husband to pull over.
“I was in way too much pain to yell at Ryan, so calmly told him over and over to speed and drive in the medium lanes with our warning lights on or call 911,” the 29-year-old, from Tennessee in the United States, recalled.
“He didn’t think I was in actual labour so he refused. He didn’t want to call 911 because he thought we would make it and it would be a waste of their time."
However, Ryan realised the severity of the situation when Gayla's screams turned to silence as she was in too much pain and the baby was already on its way.
“I was screaming during every contraction and then all of a sudden was in too much pain to scream, and was completely silent – that was my body’s sign that baby was actually coming right then and there," she said.
With no other choice, 30-year-old Ryan pulled the car over at the side of the motorway and began helping deliver the baby, only stopping to call an ambulance once the baby's head was "all the way out."
“We were super worried at first because his head was stuck for a solid two minutes before my next push," Gayla recalled.
“There was no crying – just a purple/blue baby hanging out for two whole minutes.
“When he finally came all the way out, we realised the cord was also wrapped around his neck. We freaked out a little but got him to cry some.”
With the ambulance still 10 minutes away, Ryan managed to carefully remove the umbilical cord from around the newborn's neck and they were later transported to hospital, where Gayla went on to deliver her placenta.
Ryan had to carefully remove the umbilical cord before the ambulance arrived 10 minutes later and transported them to Vanderbilt Hospital, where the mum delivered her placenta.
Although she lost a lot of blood during the delivery, both Gayla and the baby boy, who they named Carson, were happy and healthy.
After sharing their "crazy" birth story on social media, the family have been inundated with well wishes from people were so impressed with both Gayla and Ryan for safely bringing their baby boy into the world under such bizarre circumstances.
“So, so cool and terrifying at the same time. Way to go momma," one person commented, while another added: “You’re literally amazing."
“So amazing, you are such a super momma. This is my biggest fear being two hours from the hospital," a third wrote.
