Mother gives birth in back of an Uber on her way to hospital

Fast arrival: Tara Lafferty and Chris Celio with baby Maya and son Ben
Lucy Young
Ben Morgan2 December 2016

A mother today told of her shock at giving birth in the back of an Uber on her way to hospital.

Tara Lafferty and her City worker husband Chris Celio, both 36, booked the car to take them from their Battersea home to St Thomas’ Hospital. But their new daughter had other ideas.

Maya, now six weeks old, was born at the roadside after a labour of less than three hours.

The stunned driver, Evgeni Dimitrov, 37, was seven minutes from the hospital when he glanced in his rear mirror to see Maya being held by Ms Lafferty.

She said: “The contractions had started about three hours before we got in the car and then I had another three while inside the Uber.

Driver: Evgeni Dimitrov had not witnessed a birth before

“Then I saw her head between my legs. With the next contraction she was out and I held her to my stomach. That it only lasted about two and a half hours from start to finish is so surprising. We were both shocked. But we realised Maya was crying and a good colour. We got to the hospital and my husband gave the driver a five-star rating.”

The couple already had a three-year-old son named Ben but this was Ms Lafferty’s first natural birth. She spent a night in hospital before returning home with the “happy and healthy” baby. The couple, who are US citizens and moved to London in August, today thanked Mr Dimitrov for his calmness.

Ms Lafferty said: “She is six weeks old now and it’s much easier than the first time. She is very content. Every time we tell someone the story we relive it. We were both so surprised.”

Mr Dimitrov said it was the first time he had witnessed a birth, having missed that of his 10-year-old son. He added: “My GPS said we were 12 minutes from hospital and I wasn’t sure how fast I could get there. Five minutes later, I heard ‘Oh my God’ and I turned around. I was shocked and started shaking. The baby had just popped out. The most important thing was that the mother and baby were okay.”

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