Adrianne Goodwin with her son James. Photo / Simon Baker
As she lay on a roadside, about to give birth in darkness and near-zero temperatures, Adrianne Goodwin concentrated on the stars.
"I had to keep thinking 'I'm not having my baby on the side of State Highway 1, I'm having my baby under the stars'."
Although a week
overdue, Mrs Goodwin felt she had enough time when she left for hospital at 5am yesterday from her Dunsandel home, about 30km southwest of Christchurch.
But within minutes it became clear her husband Alan would have to pull over and make the best of things for the imminent arrival of 3.8kg James Alan Goodwin.
Her waters broke in the car, and the mother of two had to get out despite the cold, because "I was just too enclosed - I had to spread out".
"I knew the grass was frozen because it was hard, but I didn't feel the cold."
Cars were rushing by, yet nobody stopped.
Mr Goodwin was on the cellphone to emergency services as the baby was coming, and the couple knew help was not going to arrive in time.
Mrs Goodwin pushed, and her husband, on the line to a 111 operator, was told to feel for a head.
"And I heard him say 'there's no head there', and then about 30 seconds later he said 'shit, the baby's come out'."
"Alan didn't even have time to catch him. So he threw the phone and he grabbed the baby, and put him up under my top."
Once they had checked he was okay, there was "just elation, and relief it was over".
Emergency services arrived and took over.
Both mother and son were doing well after the drama yesterday.
James had barely made a noise and Mrs Goodwin felt "bulletproof".
She was looking forward to being able to tell her son the dramatic tale of his birth: "'Look, darling, that's where you were born', as we are driving down that road.
"My mum said 'people put up white crosses when people have died on the side of the road. What do you put up when somebody is born on the side of the road?' So I said maybe a red heart or something."
Mr Goodwin rushed back to work after the drama, while their young daughters Emily and Hayley looked forward to meeting their baby brother.
