A baby boy made a very public entrance yesterday when he was born on the podium in front of the Mercy Hospital for Women and the Austin Hospital.
Maia Guigaouri and husband James Gibbs were forced into morning peak hour traffic in a rush to get from Doncaster East to Heidelberg at 8am, just four hours into the labour with their second child.
“Ten minutes into the drive I thought: this is going to happen in the car,” said Ms Guigaouri.
“I couldn’t move because of the baby capsule in the back seat, so I was just grabbing onto the handles.”
By the time they reached the hospital entrance, the baby’s head was crowning.
“My husband was holding the baby’s head in one hand and the steering wheel with the other hand,” Ms Guigaouri said.
Ms Guigaouri said her husband had to “break the birth sac” and clear his son’s face to help the baby take his first breath.
The birth was witnessed by shocked onlookers and staff who rushed to the couple’s aid, which included erecting privacy curtains on the footpath.
“Everyone was just amazing,” Ms Guigaouri said.
Baby Mikhail was born at 8.48am weighing 3750 grams and both mother and baby are in good health.
Download full media release ( PDF, 232.5K )Last reviewed January 11, 2018.
