Various facts sometimes reserve scenes as surprising as it is moving. This Tuesday, July 29, 2025, an exceptional event occurred in Pas-de-Calais: a woman gave birth to her daughter … in the midst of the A16 motorway, even before help.
An unexpected delivery on the road
It was around 10 am when the couple, from Tournehem-sur-la-Hem, was traveling by car in the Dunkirk-Calais direction, near the town of Marck. But the journey took a turn as sudden as it is unexpected: the birth of the baby could no longer wait. Noting that childbirth was imminent, the driver had to stop urgently on the edge of the road.
In a tense situation but managed with calm, the future dad accompanied his partner during this intense moment. When the Pas-de-Calais firefighters arrived, the little girl had already come to the world.
Healthy mom and baby
The emergency services immediately took care of the mother and her infant, before transporting them to the Calais hospital center. Fortunately, both are doing well.
What if baby is getting too fast?
If this birth on the highway has experienced a happy outcome, it recalls how important it is to know the gestures to adopt in the event of unexpected childbirth. Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency artist, recalled in a previous article the essential reflexes to have:
- Immediately call 15 or 112clearly indicating your position;
- Prepare the environment : clean place, towels, removed clothes;
- During work : breathe calmly, only push when the need is irrepressible;
- If the baby is born : let it go out naturally, place it skin against skin on your belly, cover it and wait for help without cutting the cord;
- After birth : Check that the baby breathes, keep the placenta for help.
Above all, staying calm is essential. Emergency teams are trained to guide parents by phone until their arrival.
A message to the health authorities
This childbirth on the edge of a highway also reappears the debate on accessibility to maternities. Less numerous, sometimes too far away, these local structures are sorely lacking in certain rural areas. A clear message is essential: “It becomes more dangerous to give birth in a parking lot, in a car or even in an ambulance than in a maternity hospital“, Land on our expert.