Philadelphia woman gives birth in front seat of Tesla as car runs on autopilot

“I remember telling Keating, ‘I think her head is coming out. I think her heading is coming out.’ But I was so focused on the map, where we are on the screen,” the 33-year-old mother recalled. While the parents were obviously puzzled with the unexpected turns of events, the couple’s 3-year-old son, Rafa, was in the backseat. Talking to Philadelphia Inquirer, the woman initially had asked her husband to drop off her son to pre-school and then get her to the hospital.

My wife courageously delivered our baby girl, Maeve, in the front seat of our ⁦@Tesla⁩ model 3 en route to the hospital – here’s the story ⁦@PhillyInquirer⁩ ! ⁦⁦@elonmusk⁩ ⁦@Tesla thx for the autopilot⁩ 🤝💯 #tesbaby https://t.co/JPMfh7AyhN

— Keating Sherry (@KeatingSherry) December 16, 2021

The father of the children recalled that the route to the hospital was choked with rush-hour traffic. “I was [saying to] Yiran: OK, focus on your breathing. That was advice to myself, as well. My adrenaline was pumping. I said, ‘Rafa, everything’s fine. Your baby sister is arriving’,” the man told the news outlet.

But what was more agonizing than the pain itself whether to push or try hard to keep the infant inside. “Should I push or should I hold? Should I push or should I hold? F*** it, let’s do this,” she recalled telling herself, according to People. The baby was born as they arrived at the hospital. Nurses cut the baby’s umbilical cord over the car’s front seat.

“We look forward to enjoying the holidays and spending quality time with the family,” Keating said. “We’re going for a drive to look at Christmas lights… hopefully without any emergencies!”