Far more women worry about not making it to the hospital in time than necessary, but it can definitely happen! If you end up giving birth at home or in the car en route, call 911 and tell them what’s going on—they can walk you through the most important steps for safely delivering your baby.
The most important things to do in this situation are to focus on baby’s body temperature and breathing:
Dry baby off immediately with whatever you have on hand and then tuck them under your clothes to keep them warm and give them that all-important skin-to-skin contact after birth.
If Baby is crying, then their breathing is likely working fine—but if they don’t seem to be breathing, vigorously rub their skin or gently flick their feet. This usually annoys them, which jumpstarts breathing. You may also need to clear out any secretions in their mouth with your finger.
While you wait for emergency services to reach you (or for you to reach the hospital, if you’re in the car), don’t worry about clamping and cutting the umbilical cord. Leave the placenta attached to the baby until you get to the hospital or, if you deliver it before you get there, keep the placenta close to baby to avoid pulling or tearing the umbilical cord. Cord detachment is one of the potentially biggest health risks to baby with an emergency delivery, so focus on keeping the cord attached until you reach the hospital.
In all likelihood, you’ll deliver baby where you’re supposed to. In the meantime, try to keep calm and stay prepared.