Rushing to the hospital after her labour pains started and her waters broke in the car, mum-to-be Caroline Meech staggered into the maternity unit. However, she only managed to make it to the entrance before her baby decided it was time to be born!
Collapsing in front of the automatic doors, the 32-year-old’s husband Mike runs in to help her but is unable to get her any further inside. The dramatic scenes, captured on CCTV, see the couple struggling to move before hospital staff come to the rescue in time for Caroline’s impromptu birth at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
Luckily, Caroline was moved away from the automatic doors because every time she pushed, the doors opened! After discovering that there wasn’t enough time for her to be taken to a delivery room, Caroline gave birth in the foyer – next to the water cooler!
It's not the sort of experience anyone would forget, but just in case, she has the CCTV footage to refresh her memory! “It wasn’t really how I would have planned it but it was definitely a comedy situation. I had to laugh when I watched it back,” the mum-of-four recalled.
Within 10 minutes of Caroline staggering into the maternity unit, she gave birth to a healthy 8lb 3oz baby girl named Alice. The couple plan to give her the unusual CCTV video memento of her birth on her 18th birthday. “I must admit I have never heard of any other mother having their childbirth captured on CCTV but it’s actually a really nice thing to have,” Caroline said.
