Life is a highway, all night long

DON SCOTT/The Press

EXPRESS DELIVERY: Vicki and Simon Eastwick with baby Blake, who was born on the roadside.

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Vicki Eastwick's "worst fear" became a reality as she lay in the grass on the side of Old West Coast Rd.

The Oxford woman and her husband, Simon, had failed to make it to St George's Hospital in Christchurch in time, forcing her to give birth to son Blake on the roadside at 1.25am yesterday. Blake weighed a hefty 4.6kg.

"My worst fear all through my pregnancy was that I would not make it to the hospital in time," she said. " When I realised my worst fear was going to become a reality, I thought, 'Oh, my God', but I was screaming in pain and just wanted it out at that stage. I didn't really care."

Eastwick, who was a week overdue, had spent the previous seven days trying everything she could think of to bring on labour, including castor oil and homeopathic remedies.

She had her first contraction after 11pm on Monday and they advanced quickly. Her midwife, Valerie Melling, advised her to go to hospital, but

five minutes down the road Eastwick's waters broke.

"After that the contractions were one to two minutes apart. They were coming pretty quickly and then I knew there was no going back," Eastwick said.

About 25 minutes from the hospital, she told her husband to pull over.

Simon Eastwick said it was scary being in the "middle of nowhere".

"It was quite an emotional time. You really just think about the health of mum and baby," he said.

Melling arrived about two minutes later and was able to deliver the baby safely. Once Melling established Blake was fine, they got back in the car and drove on to hospital.

Eastwick was in labour for 36 hours with her first baby, Ryan, now 15 months, so was hoping this time would not be as long, but less than two hours was much faster than she expected.

"They always say your second one comes quicker than the first, but that was a bit ridiculous."

- © Fairfax NZ News