A woman gave birth to her baby in the front seat of her Ford Mondeo after getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way to hospital.
Demi Clark, 22, from Whiteleas, South Shields, was 40 weeks pregnant when she started having cramps, which indicated she was going into labour.
Demi got into the car with her partner Daniel Moy, 32, and her mother Maria Clark, 41, and they sped to Sunderland Royal Hospital.
But on the way the family got stuck in traffic while crossing the Sunderland Bridge. At that same moment Demi began to have strong contractions and she felt the need to push.
In the middle of stopped traffic, Demi had no choice but to labor in the front seat while Maria, who had no medical training, assisted in the delivery from the back seat.
Demi Clark, 22, from Whiteleas, South Shields, gave birth to her baby in the front seat of her Ford Mondeo, after getting stuck in traffic on the way to hospital (pictured with her mother, Maria Clark).
Baby Delilah, Demi’s third child, was born weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces. They had to be wrapped in a jacket until they finally arrived at the hospital by ambulance.
Delilah spent some time in the hospital before being released and is now home with her family.
Demi, a stay-at-home mum, said: “It was crazy and a blur – now I can only remember little snippets when I look back.”
‘I remember seeing my partner running through traffic waving his arms for help.
“When I started twitching I couldn’t help it, I needed to push and I could already see the head coming out. Delilah just flew away after that – it was all over in five minutes!
“The car was a mess afterwards, but we laughed about it – it feels so surreal that I actually gave birth in a traffic jam.”
Demi, also mother to Dryden, three, and Raven, one, woke up on April 8 with cramps and soon after lost her mucus plug.
The family got into the car, but along the way they got stuck behind roadworks and trucks carrying heavy goods.
Demi said she still hasn’t processed it properly and that they left to go to the hospital at 11:30 a.m. and that she had given birth in the car at 11:45 a.m.
Demi jumped into the car with her partner Daniel Moy, 32 (right) and her mother Maria Clark, 41 (right) and they sped to Sunderland Royal Hospital.
Demi, with her partner Daniel Moy, 32, and their children Dryden, three, Raven, one year old, and Delilah, one month old.
Baby Delilah, Demi’s third child, was born weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces. They had to be wrapped in a jacket until they finally arrived at the hospital by ambulance.
Demi tried to ignore the increasingly strong contractions as Maria, a painter and decorator, encouraged her not to push until they arrived.
But finally, in the middle of stopped traffic, she had no choice, so she took off her pants and started giving birth.
Demi said: ‘I had one leg on the door and it was resting on the handbrake, and my hand was on the driver’s seat.
“As I was pushing, I was trying to take off my jacket because I needed something to wrap it around.
“My mother was in the back seat and had to climb over me to get out and help me because the back doors had child locks.”
After the birth, another driver who was also stuck in traffic called an ambulance. Demi was taken to the hospital with blue light, where she delivered the placenta.
But on the way the family got stuck in traffic while crossing the Sunderland Bridge. At the same moment Demi started having strong contractions and she felt the need to push.
Delilah spent some time in the hospital before being released and is now home with her family.
Because baby Delilah swallowed some blood during delivery, she had to stay in the neonatal unit for eight days until she could feed normally.
She was discharged on April 14 and has loved meeting her older siblings.
Because baby Delilah swallowed some blood during delivery, she had to stay in the neonatal unit for eight days until she could feed normally.
She was discharged on April 14 and has loved meeting her older siblings.
Demi said: ‘The first births were nothing like this, it happened so quickly. Delilah was the easiest of all, and I gave birth to her in a car!
‘Mum has no medical training, but she has nine children, so she knows something about birth.
‘Daniel missed the birth because the baby had just flown away; he was busy running around in a panic trying to get help.
“I still haven’t processed it properly – we left to go to the hospital at 11:30am and I had already given birth at 11:45am!”
