‘We’re having a road baby’: Nashville woman gives birth on side of highway

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee couple on the way to the hospital for the birth of their son on Wednesday, instead had to deliver the baby on the side of the highway.

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Gayla Thompson had been having contractions earlier in the week and as they became more severe, she and husband Ryan decided to drop off their 5-year-old at day care and headed to the hospital, WSMV reported.

“The contractions got so bad I got quiet,” Gayla Thompson told WKRN. “All of a sudden I couldn’t even scream, and I realized – crap – we’re having a road baby.”

They pulled over to the side of Interstate 440 and called 911.

“I see his head coming through right now,” Ryan Thompson told dispatchers.

They noticed something was wrong during labor. The child was not moving or breathing and he started to go pale.

The umbilical cord was wrapped around the newborn’s neck. Thompson removed it and Carson, at seven pounds, three ounces was born.

“You don’t even realize it’s happening,” he said. “You let instincts take over and do what you gotta do.”

Paramedics met them on the highway. Mother and baby were taken to the hospital and are doing well.

“(The hospital) called us and said, ‘Hey we don’t see an address for his birth. His birth certificate will literally say I-440 by Nolensville Pike.’ Which is like the coolest part of this story,” Gayla Thompson said.

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