In a dramatic turn of events, an Indian-origin man helped deliver his own baby in the family car on Chicago’s iconic Michigan Avenue last week.
Ashwin Avasarala, 40, and his wife Jasmine Kwong, 41, were on their way to the hospital when their daughter decided not to wait. Their baby girl, Aira, was born in the front seat of the car on September 15. “You can’t get more Chicago than that,” Kwong told People Magazine.
According to the outlet, the couple had dropped off their toddler at daycare and thought they still had enough time to reach the hospital. But within minutes, Kwong’s contractions grew stronger. “By the time we crossed the river, I felt that something was coming out for real this time,” she recalled.
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Newborn baby’s dramatic arrival
Avasarala, realising his wife was already in labour, panicked when he saw the baby’s head. “With a foot on the brake, he reached over and pulled the baby out,” Kwong said. He then parked the car, turned on the hazard lights and called 911.
Police officers initially asked them to move, but once they realised what was happening, they apologised, diverted traffic, and assisted the couple until paramedics arrived. Medical staff then cleaned the baby, suctioned liquid out of her nose and cut the umbilical cord. They stabilised the baby before taking her to the hospital’s NICU, the mother said.
{{/usCountry}}Police officers initially asked them to move, but once they realised what was happening, they apologised, diverted traffic, and assisted the couple until paramedics arrived. Medical staff then cleaned the baby, suctioned liquid out of her nose and cut the umbilical cord. They stabilised the baby before taking her to the hospital’s NICU, the mother said.
{{/usCountry}}Aira spent a day on oxygen and IV support but was discharged along with her mother after three days.
Kwong later joked that while their daughter calmed down quickly, “it took hours before Ashwin finally calmed down.”
“She sleeps most of the time. She’s just over a week old now and her favorite activities thus far are sleeping all day, being wide awake in the middle of the night, drinking from the bottle more than from the breast, pooping while we’re holding her, and peeing while we’re changing her diaper," she told WGN-TV.
She went on to say that even though their daughter’s birth was “way too dramatic,” they’re “grateful that the birth was so easy and quick.”
The couple, both graduates of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said the location made the experience even more special. “We met while studying at the Gleacher Center, which is basically right behind the Tribune Tower,” Kwong said. “So it’s a full-circle Chicago moment for us,’ she added.