Couple forced to deliver their baby son – at 70mph on the M1
A COUPLE have described the moment they had to deliver their own baby – while travelling at 70mph on the M1 motorway.
When Rebecca Cheung’s contractions started a week before her due date, she and her husband Anthony were told by medical staff to head for the hospital.
They dropped off their oneyear-old son, Harvey, at a relative’s house and started the 12mile journey to Pinderfields hospital in Wakefield from their home in Middlestown on August 20.
But as her husband, 30, drove down the M1 motorway, their new son Archie decided the time was right to introduce himself.
Mrs Cheung, 29, said: “We left home at about 8.45am and when we got onto the M1 my contractions just started going crazy.”
To make matters worse, the stretch of motorway they were travelling down had no hard shoulder to pull over onto.
Mr Cheung was therefore unable to pull over or stop because it would have been even more dangerous, so he had to keep going. Mrs Cheung said: “We were both panicking and the car started swerving so I was trying to get Anthony to concentrate on the driving.
“I pushed and then the baby was there. He was born at 9.13am.
“He didn’t cry straight away so it was a bit of a panic. His cord was wrapped under his arms and pushing his neck forwards but after we untangled him and he had a bit of a cry we both relaxed a bit.” Mr Cheung pulled off at the next junction and phoned the hospital to tell them what had happened.
Hospital staff told him to head straight for A&E, and they arrived five minutes later.
Mrs Cheung, a Northern Ballet research officer, said: “We parked up by the ambulances and the paramedics ran over to help us.
“Everyone was so happy to see us. We were moved up to the birthing suite and then it just all came home to me.
“I just couldn’t believe what had just happened.”
Mr Cheung, who works as a software salesman, said: “It was an absolutely incredible experience, and I definitely wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Mrs Cheung added: “We’re lucky it was so straight forward because it can be so unpredictable and if anything went wrong the professionals were so far away.”
Mr and Mrs Cheung’s first son was also born quickly – after a labour of just three hours.