Jess Hannam, 31, was being driven to hospital by partner Joe Illsley, 34, when she realised they were not going to make it to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey
A mum had to give birth in the car park of a care home after her baby insisted on arriving in a rush.
Jess Hannam, 31, was being driven to hospital by partner Joe Illsley, 34, when she realised they were not going to make it.
She said: “We were weighing up whether to stop at a petrol station or care home. We picked the home as it was more sanitary.”
Joe helped to deliver the baby while on the phone to a 999 operator. It had been just 90 minutes since Jess’s contractions began. When he saw someone coming out of the care home, Joe rushed over to ask them for help.
Jess said: “Loads of people were helping, constantly checking on me, and they brought lots of towels and blankets.”
An ambulance arrived shortly after the birth and took Jess and her son to Frimley Park Hospital in Camberley, Surrey, where he was weighed at a healthy 6lb 7oz.
Jess and Joe, who are both graphic designers, named him Louie and gave him the middle name Avery, as Avery Healthcare runs Bagshot Gardens Care Home, where Louie was born in their BMW 1 Series.
Jess, of Bracknell, Berks, who is also mum to Logan, six, has since taken Louie to meet the home’s residents and staff. Care assistant Susan Bedford, who rushed to help Jess in the drama on August 28, said: “Meeting the baby was very emotional.”