A couple from Surrey have recalled the ‘surreal’ moment their third child was born in a car park after the labour took a quick turn.
Ben Corp, 40, a home care assistant, who lives in Lightwater, had to “catch” his newborn son, after partner Katie Williamson, 29, went into labour in the passenger seat of their car.
Katie, an area manager, along with Ben and mum Bridget, rushed to hospital on 19 August after realising she was going into labour.
Halfway there, Katie knew the baby was coming fast after feeling his head on her hands.
After pulling into the drop-off area at Frimley Park Hospital, Ben rushed to his partner in the passenger seat and had no choice but to deliver his baby son.
“The experience was overwhelming but exciting – I knew the baby was coming very quickly so I knew we would be having a very different birth experience to my previous two,” Katie told NeedToKnow.Online.
“I thought it couldn’t be happening this quickly as I’ve been told we still have some time, but within minutes I knew something had suddenly changed.
“When I felt the baby’s head in the car, I knew this was it and he would be born before we arrived.
“My previous births were much longer, although no complications so I was told the third could be quicker.
“Although the beginning of this labour was completely different, the care we received both outside the hospital and once we got inside was excellent as always.”
Ben and Katie have named their baby boy Jaxon Carter, who weighed a healthy 8 lbs 3 oz when born.
“The whole experience felt surreal, the fact that I delivered the baby didn’t hit me for a few days,” Ben told NeedToKnow.online.
“I jumped out the car and ran around and had to pull Katie’s trousers off.
“At this point it did hit me that the baby was coming right now and we wouldn’t make it inside.
“Without thinking about it I had to get on with it and catch the little chap as he was coming now.
“Once he was fully out, I suppose my mind did go into overdrive a bit as he didn’t make a noise straight away.
“After a few seconds he made a sound and I was holding him and I gave a big sigh of relief, I looked up and saw help coming and then the midwives took over.”
Katie first went to Frimley Park Hospital on 18 August after experiencing contractions.
As she was only 1cm dilated, nurses told her to go home and come back in a few hours if there was any progress.
In the early hours the very next day, Katie realised that her labour was starting to progress very quickly.
She said: “I was a bit scared but felt safe with Ben as he always stays calm, he is naturally a caring person not just for work but with everybody.
“When we left home to go to the hospital for the second time I just knew he was coming quickly and kept saying ‘the baby is coming now!’ so I think I knew we wouldn’t make it.
“When we pulled up at the hospital a few minutes later, Ben got out and ran around to my side of the car and a few minutes later Ben had caught the baby in his arms in the passenger seat of the car.
“It was 1.43am.
“My mum, Bridget, was with us too so she had run inside by this point to call for help.”
A large team of people rushed over to help and quickly took Katie and baby to a bed in the labour ward.
Within 12 hours of the birth, the couple were able to go back home with their son.
Mum-of-three Katie says Jaxon has settled in really well to the family and is a “great sleeper”.
Jaxon’s older siblings Ruby, 8, and Mason, 6, have also taken the arrival of their new baby brother “perfectly”.
Katie added: “The recovery has been very quick and we have all been out and able to return to family life already.
“I didn’t want my other children to be affected by the changes or feel unsettled but we are grateful we’ve been able to keep things normal at home and they have taken to being big brother and sister even better than we imagined.”
