'He caught her perfectly' - Bristol woman gives birth in a car as her partner catches the newborn

A baby was welcomed into the world in an unconventional way after her mother gave birth in a car leaving her partner to catch their newborn daughter.

Tiah Parsan, from Bristol, was travelling to St Michael's Hospital with her partner Kieran Warner, when she realised she was about to give birth.

The couple parked on the Clifton Triangle outside Five Guys and Mr Warner raced to the back seat just in time to catch newborn Kehlani.

Ms Parsan, 26, said: "We got into the car at about 1.15am and then we had to stop after five minutes of driving. I said to my partner 'I need to stop, my waters have broken and she's coming'."

The couple, who also have a one-year-old daughter called Zaya, believed while Ms Parsan was in labour that, even if their second time took half as long as their first (11 hours), they would still have plenty of time to get to the hospital.

She was familiar with the type of pains she had experienced during the birth of her firstborn and so, after starting to feel "a bit different" during the day, she got in the bath and then at 11pm she says she felt a "definite contraction".

Ms Parsan, who is a fanbase coordinator at Rambert Dance Company, said: "Within about 20 minutes of getting in the bath, my mum was like 'you need to get out, it looks like you're going to have her soon'. I got onto my bed, I couldn't get off of it because I knew she was coming, basically.

"[In the car] we were on the phone to the hospital and they said we've only got 10 minutes to get there, so I'll make it, which, of course I didn't!

"We drove for another five minutes and we had to stop on the Clifton Triangle by Five Guys - we literally had her right there in the car.

"I said 'the head's here, you need to pull over' and then Kieran pulled over and rushed to the back seat where I was, he held his hands out and I pushed her out and he caught her perfectly."

The new mother-of-two said that her eldest daughter, Zaya, was fortunately safely tucked up in bed at home with her grandmother, Ms Parsan's mum, who stayed over that night.

She had made sure to surround herself with things she loved during her labour, even admitting to starting High School Musical and a pregnancy playlist she'd made - though she didn't make it through it all.

Ms Parsan added: "I only had Zaya last year, so I remembered parts of the pain, the different types of pain, so I knew when I felt that certain pain was when she was on her way. I wasn't thinking about anything else, just focusing on that pain and that it meant she was coming.

"It went too quickly to think about anything else. When Kieran got her, he put her straight on me and I rubbed her back and once she started crying I felt a big relief. But I was still stressed in a way, because obviously we weren't in a hospital.

"We were on the phone to them, so they knew that we were having her at this point, but it all went too quickly to even think. I can't remember what I thought - it happened too quickly. We'd managed to film Zaya's birth, but this time round there just wasn't enough time!"

Mr Warner, 31, is a professional dancer and circus artist and he helped her through it all and didn't panic.

She added: "Kieran stayed very calm and then when we got into the hospital he did a massive cry. I think he was just overwhelmed with the shock. But at the time he was really calm."

When the couple made it to the hospital, baby Kehlani was checked over and given the all-clear.

It was another stroke of luck for the family that they kept blankets and jumpers in the car, so had something nearby which could be used to wrap Kehlani in once she was born to keep her warm until the ambulance arrived.

Ms Parsan added that she had thought about the possibility of giving birth in the car before, but never thought it would happen to her.

She said: "I follow a birth account on Instagram and I see a lot of birth videos on there. There were a few videos where people have given birth in cars and I was always like 'oh my god, imagine if we did that, no way, it's scary' - that kind of thing. And then it obviously happened to us and now I feel it's scary to a point but at the same time, it's a really nice story as well."

While the mother of two was giving birth she noticed a lot of student nights taking place in the area.

Luckily she said it was dark so nobody could see anything.

She said: "There were two girls that were asking Kieran if we were alright. I think they definitely heard the screaming, but luckily there wasn't an audience!"

Ms Parsan said that her eldest, Zaya, is already loving being a big sister and that she keeps going up to Kehlani and calling her "baby' before giving her a kiss.

The couple are not planning to have any more children, but they said it's not necessarily the experience of giving birth in the car that put them off.

Tiah said: "We did agree, just the two and then this happened. I think it's more of a confirmation!"

The couple passed the spot where Kehlani was born the next day and said they both became "very emotional".

They hope that it will become a regular tradition to go for a birthday meal at the Five Guys there for years to come, and a story that she will be able to wow all her friends with as she grows up, too.

When asked about possible advice she would offer to expectant mothers about giving birth in a car, Ms Parsan said: "You can't stay calm but, at the same time, your body's going to do what it's going to do, so you can't stop it. The best thing to do is just to breathe through it - I know it's easier said than done, but it actually works so well, the deep breathing.

"When they say about having a baby and how long it takes and what helps the baby get out quicker, it's the oxytocin, which is like the love hormone in your body. So whatever you like in general - it could be a playlist of music, it could be a favourite film, it could be a partner, physical touch - you should do all of that when you're contracting.

"So I had my pregnancy playlist on, all of my favourite songs in one playlist. Have that on in the background, so you have something that helps.

"With Kieran being there, it soothed me and chilled me out a bit and my mum was there for my first birth and in the house with me for this one, which really helped. When you're calm, it's a lot easier."

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