An Unexpected Arrival: Brisbane Mother Gives Birth Prematurely in a Moving Car on the Way to the Hospital

Courtney Tapiki had dropped her daughter off at school last week when she realized she was having contractions at 31 weeks pregnant.

She called her husband, Elijah, to come back from work, and the pair began driving to Mater Mothers’ Hospital in South Brisbane, when things escalated.

“But we were only minutes from our home when my contractions started to get closer,” Courtney said. “I thought, ‘This baby is coming right now!”

The mum-of-four swung into action, calling for an ambulance while her husband continued driving along the Centenary Highway. She then used another mobile phone to call the hospital. She was connected with midwife Madonna Beirne, who guided her through the super-fast delivery.

“I only pushed once, and the baby came out – I didn’t even have ᴛι̇ɱe to take my underwear off!” Courtney said.

While baby Patience had been delivered, she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck.

Midwife Madonna guided the couple through the minutes following the birth.

“I explained to Courtney and Elijah how they needed to unwrap the cord and make sure they continuously checked on her breathing and skin color and kept her warm,” Madonna said.

“We had quite a bit of ᴛι̇ɱe to chat on the phone while they waited for the ambulance, and I joked they should call the baby Madonna, but Courtney said she wanted to name her Patience – because her baby didn’t have any!” Madonna explained.

A Queensland Ambulance Service crew arrived at the scene shortly after and transported mom and baby to the hospital.

Patience weighed in at 1.96kg and is being cared for in Mater’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

“She is our miracle baby,” Courtney said. “We are so lucky she survived being born so early and without any breathing assistance until we arrived at Mater.”