Mum delivers her baby on side of the road: 'Kids were shocked'
As a mum of six, Heather Skaats thought she knew what to expect when it came to giving birth, particularly since a series of home births helped her feel more relaxed during the process.
So when the heavily pregnant mum, from the US state of Kentucky, felt mild contractions at home this week she didn't think anything of it, and she loaded the car with her five kids and continued running errands.
She thought she had at least "8 to 10 hours" before she'd meet her newest family member, but panic set in when her contractions intensified, a sign she was in labour.
Knowing she wouldn't make it home, Ms Skaats, 34, pulled the car over and swiftly jumped out, and what happened next shocked everyone.
With her kids still strapped in and watching on intently, the mum-of-six gave birth right there on the grass with her husband on the phone.
"I put my hand down there and his head started coming out with his body," she told Today Parents, saying she was in a squatting position when her waters broke.
"I didn’t even have to push. It was so quick. I was on the phone with my husband Nick, and 20 seconds later, I was like, ‘He’s here!'"
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Ms Skatts detailed the whirlwind event on Facebook admitting she "thought these things only happened in movies".
"I was literally driving in the car with all the kids when I felt like I needed to pull over," she wrote. "Got out of the car, went to the other side in the grass and literally had a baby."
The 34-year-old jumped back in the driver's seat of the car where her kids Kaelynn, 13, Aneleigh, 11, Austin, 6, Luke, 3, and Alyssa, 2, were eager to meet their sibling.
Instead of waiting for an ambulance, the mum drove herself home while holding the newborn, who was still attached to the placenta inside her.
"I wrapped him in a blanket and drove with him close to my chest. I think the kids were in shock. They were pretty quiet," she told Today.
When she got home, Ms Skaats jumped in the shower and delivered the placenta. Her midwife arrived soon after.
"I'm still in shock that I delivered my own baby on the side of the road," she wrote online, adding she had to pick grass off her baby.
"But he is perfect, all of the kids are happy to have him here, and today was a day I will never forget."
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