Baby born in medical parking lot

COUPEVILLE, Wash., March 2 (UPI) -- A Washington state woman said her baby was born in a hospital parking lot with the help of her father-in-law.

Carol Maynard of Freeland said she was staying with her parents near Possession Shores while her husband, James, was on a business trip when her contractions started Feb. 24, the South Whidbey Record reported Tuesday.

Maynard, who said the baby was not due for two weeks, said she called James's parents, Cyndy and Stephen Maynard, for help as her own parents had an important medical appointment later in the day. She said her water broke just as the in-laws arrived.

The expectant mother said she set out for Whidbey General Hospital in Coupeville with Stephen Maynard in the driver's seat and they called 911 when it seemed the baby would come before they arrived at the hospital.

The dispatcher urged them to pull over and wait for emergency medical technicians, but Carol Maynard said she insisted they not stop until they reached the parking lot of Whidbey General Hospital's Emergency Medical Services facility in Bayview.

A pair of technicians emerged from the building just in time for Maynard to feel the baby's head coming. She said Miles Dean Maynard was born at 7 pounds, 6 ounces. Her father-in-law cut the umbilical cord.

"I'd never want to have a baby in front of my father-in-law and some men in a parking lot," Maynard said later Thursday from her room at Whidbey General.