“Who will be present at the birth?”
It’s a question a lot of soon-to-be-mothers ask themselves before the arrival of their baby.
I’ve heard many women say, their partner, mum, sister, sister-in-law, friend. But I imagine it’s rare for a mum to say, “I’d like my dad to be there as I give birth”.
Say what?
Sure, each to their own. But it isn’t something I imagine would be a regular response. After all, childbirth is surely one of the most primal, intimate and personal moments a mother will go through. It’s often been seen as a space reserved for the mother-to-be and her closest companion or family.
Father, Rocky Anderson probably agreed …
Until.
Rocky’s daughter Lakeya went into labour. In the car. On the way to the hospital.
There certainly wasn’t time for hesitation when he soon realised that he was the only person left to deliver her baby.
Rocky pumped himself up by telling himself, “I watch National Geographic. I think I can do it. Why not?”
The Oklahoma man was a grandfather in 30 minutes after he delivered the baby in a petrol station. He chuckled as he remembers the moment he told her to push, “I put my hands there and [said] ‘push’ and sure enough, she let out a scream. I don’t know how you women do it.”
His daughter was terrified, “I remember feeling her head and and I knew yeah, we weren’t going to make it at all [to the hospital]”.
The baby was named London. It’s birth place? The address given to the ambulance drivers, a restaurant next to the petrol station. The restaurant was called the Barking Frog Bar.
The lesson for the rest of us?
Life’s what happens when you’re making other plans.
Congratulations, Rocky!
Have you got an unusual birth story? We’d love to hear about it. Email us at eliza@mamamia.com.au
Watch the video below to hear more about this incredible story:
Top Comments
My husband and my Mum were there for the birth of my son, but my Dad was in the waiting room in the hospital, which was nice that he wanted to be near, but not too close! He got to see my son when he was one hour old. However, sometime later my mum was talking about some graphic moment of the birth to which my Dad said to me "too much information". But really for this woman, it was great that she did have her Dad there and what a moment for him, so really it didn't matter who was there.
After reading the headline my first thought was eww, no, just no. Then I read that he had no choice, and the baby came unexpectedly, good on him, you gotta do what you gotta do.