Michael and Taylor HaleHome birth, birthing center, or hospital? Water birth or traditional? Standing or squatting? There are plenty of choices to consider when planning the delivery of your baby into the world, but the front seat of a moving Honda isn't typically in the mix.

For Mesa, Arizona, mom Taylor Hale, however, the front seat of her Honda Accord suddenly became the delivery room when her baby girl started coming. According to ABC News, when she woke with contractions around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday she knew she needed to get to the hospital. It was just a five-minute drive from their house though, so she thought everything would be fine.

Then as she and her husband were driving to the hospital, the baby's head started coming out.

Her husband, Michael Hale, called 911, but within minutes, his wife proclaimed, “The baby’s out!” He said by the time he was able  to pull over and stop the car, he looked over and his wife was holding their baby.

"I was in the front seat and I just put my legs up and I pushed her out while we were driving," Taylor said.

The conversation between Michael and the operator plus the background noises of the baby crying give an incredible glimpse into both how stressful and how beautifully simple the whole thing was. While you can tell the father is nervous, he remains pretty calm, and the 911 operator has one of the most soothing voices. You can hear the whole thing here.

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I think every pregnant woman worries at one time or another about giving birth somewhere that she doesn't intend, and this definitely qualifies. Fortunately, in this case, even though things didn't go as planned, they turned out fine. Mom and baby Chloe are reportedly doing well, and they certainly have one heck of a birth story to tell.

In what ways have your birth experiences been different than you planned?

 

Image via ABC News