Taking the term ‘hands-on dad’ to another level

There’s multi-tasking and then there’s this…

A father from Sussex had to ‘catch’ his newborn son while driving as his wife gave birth on the way to the hospital.

A drive to remember

Keir and Jessamy Shreeves were taken by surprise as their third child decided to make an early appearance while they were driving to the hospital in Haywards Heath last week.

Mrs Shreeves’ contractions first started around 7pm, and by 9.30pm they were becoming ‘more intense’, leading to the pair deciding to head to the hospital.

However, their journey turned eventful when she got into the car and her waters broke.

The dramatic delivery

Deciding to make up for lost time after being almost two weeks ‘late’, Mrs Shreeves’ labour was progressing fairly quickly and the couple realised they weren’t going to make it in time, diverting to her parents’ home while Keir phoned for an ambulance.

Moments later, Mr Shreeves had to do a spot of multi-tasking, driving with his right hand on the steering wheel and using his left hand to catch his newborn son as the head appeared.

Source: Mid Sussex Times

Mrs Shreeves commented: “I was hanging out of the car window and it was still moving while Keir was driving with his right hand and catching the baby.

“By that point we were halfway down my parents’ drive and we lost phone signal. I pulled back in from the window and picked him [the baby] up off the seat.

“Luckily my parents are very calm in a crisis and they went and called an ambulance and then dad brought the phone out to us so that the call handler could ask us to check his airways.”

After a rather dramatic delivery, the drama was not done for Mrs Shreeves as she ended up delivering the placenta on her parents’ Persian rug in the hallway.

We’re pleased to report that after a short stop in hospital, both Mrs Shreeves and baby Orlando are now safely back home and doing well.

Are your journeys often filled with kids in the back of your car? Take a look at our top tips for driving with kids.