‘Tesla baby’: US woman gives birth in front seat of car while it was on autopilot

A woman in US gave birth in the front seat of her electric smart car while it was being driven on autopilot. The baby, born on September, is now being termed as the world’s ‘first Tesla baby’.

Philadelphia resident Yiran Sherry, 33, was with her husband, Keating, 34, and three-year-old son Rafa in the car when the courageous delivery took place, reports US-based newspaper the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The couple and their son were stuck in traffic when Sherry’s water broke. With slow traffic and increasing contractions, the couple decided that they could not wait until they reach the hospital.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Keating Sherry put the vehicle on autopilot mode after setting the navigation system to the hospital, which was 20 minutes away from their current location. He then attended to his wife.

“She was squeezing my hand to the point where I thought she was going to shatter it. I was (saying) ‘Yiran, OK, focus on your breathing.’ That was advice to myself, as well. My adrenaline was pumping,” Keating Sherry told the Inquirer.

Yiran said the decision to give birth in the car or wait until they reach the hospital was an “agonising” one.

The mother of two said her husband intermittently drove and used autopilot in the rush to reach the hospital.

However, she said that she kept glancing at their estimated arrival time and saw it was barely moving.

“Should I push or should I hold? Should I push or should I hold? F**k it, let’s do this,” she recalled telling herself, according to People magazine.

She then gave birth to her daughter, Maeve, as they arrived at the hospital. Nurses cut the baby’s umbilical cord over the car’s front seat.

“Once the paediatrician said, ‘She’s healthy, congratulations,’ that was quite the sigh of relief,” Keating said.

(With inputs from agencies)