Baby born in rush hour traffic one block from hospital

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A Newfoundland woman said her infant daughter was born in her family car when the parents became stuck in rush hour traffic only a block from the hospital.

Melissa Maher said her husband, Tommy, was behind the wheel and her mother-in-law, Mary Hann, was coaching her through the labor when they realized they would not make it to the Health Sciences Center in St. John's for the birth, despite being only a block away, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday.

Maher, who was turned away from the hospital several hours earlier because her water hadn't broken yet, said Hann called paramedics and the responders were able to climb a fence and a snowbank to reach the car in time for the birth of baby Julia Mary Elizabeth Hann .

"I never imagined that we would end up delivering [Julia] in the back seat of the car," Maher said. "I was very nervous and very scared that the baby wouldn't be okay. You're not meant to deliver in your car. It's not what you think when you have a birth plan."

The mother and newborn, who weighed in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces, were taken the rest of the way to the hospital by an ambulance.