Most expectant mothers spend a significant portion of their pregnancy daydreaming about the delivery of their child — the peaceful music, the calming message, and the pain relief only a scream away.
But, this courageous Queensland mother greeted her daughter on the side of a sandy roadway.
Lydia Kirk gave birth on a homemade bed on the Bruce Highway, somewhere between Bowen and Proserpine, with a local landowner serving as her nurse. This is one of the most uniquely Australian birth tales you’re ever likely to hear.
After a lengthy first labor, the mother of one believed she had plenty time to get at the hospital. Nevertheless, her daughter had different intentions.
An unexpected birth
Lydia informed Mum’s Grapevine that Bowen lacks a delivery room, so she and Chris Broucek had a 70-kilometer trip ahead of them.
“Before we left for Proserpine Hospital, we went to Bowen Hospital, where our midwife informed us that we were four centimeters dilated and needed to go for Proserpine immediately.”
“We were about halfway into our journey and I stated to my fiancé that I wanted to push. He informed me, ‘I don’t think so’! I pushed around three times and remarked to him, ‘I can feel a bulge, Chris, I can feel her head’.”
Lydia reports that this is when Chris took action and dialed 911, but Layla was already well on her way.
“We were still in motion when she was born, and I carried her to my chest. He had to use his hands to rip off my underwear since I had to move them to the side when she entered the room.
The pair then pulled over and followed the emergency operator’s instructions, which included laying on the side of the road due to Lydia’s inability to recline her seat due to the car seats in the rear.
“As we were waiting for the ambulance, a local landowner stopped and offered us some towels. As soon as the ambulance came, they made sure Layla and I were both safe and sound, clamped Layla’s umbilical chord, and had Chris cut her cord.
“I didn’t have much on my thoughts other than worrying whether Layla was alright and healthy — she arrived so suddenly that I was honestly in a state of shock. I’m simply pleased Chris was with me because he handled the issue and made sure everything was well.”
Now that’s a birth story – welcome to the world, Layla Maree! We take our hats off to this cool and calm couple who birthed their baby like bosses.
