Being held up in traffic while trying to quickly get to a destination is frustrating. And an Atlanta mother who gave birth in the middle of traffic can attest to that – though her story ended on a very good note.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Loston and Deshai Fudd were making their way to the hospital in November after the latter went into labor. But their baby decided to enter the world while they were in traffic along Interstate 75.
Deshai said she had initially noticed symptoms of labor, so she told her husband to pack up and take her to the hospital. “My husband had got off work early because I was having contractions. So, as soon as he got off work I was like, ‘Pack the car, let’s go to the hospital,'” she recalled.
But the unexpected happened while the expectant couple was in the middle of traffic. “Literally, my water broke and a second later she was in my pants,” Deshai said.
Deshai’s labor is said to have intensified while they were on the I-75 north. “We were on the highway for about ten minutes. It’s about a 20- to 25-minute drive and my water broke. I was like, ‘My water just broke’ and something exploded in my pants. And I was like, ‘Can you check and see what’s in my pants…’ He was like, ‘Is that the baby?’” she said.
Loston also continued driving as he did not know what to do next. “Fifteen minutes on the GPS this is bad. Bad! Like put her back in you,” he recalled.
Loston eventually managed to get the attention of a Georgia State Patrol trooper who was driving by. “I was just like, ‘Alright man, I just need you to get me to the hospital. I have a baby in the passenger seat,’” Loston said.
With the help of the trooper, the couple maneuvered their way through the traffic and safely got to the hospital. The baby, Dariya Denise, was ultimately declared healthy by hospital staff.
“I definitely agree with the Atlanta is packed comments now. I knew it was bad. It was just a bad time for it to be bad,” said Loston. Per Jerry, “Atlanta has the 10th worst traffic of any US city, with an average of 53 hours lost to congestion in 2021 alone.”
And though this is Deshai’s third child, she said she was surprised she gave birth to Dariya quickly as she went into labor for three days with one of her children, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
Deshai also went viral on social media after she shared her story. The video has been viewed over 8 million times.