Waynesburg woman delivers baby en route to hospital on I-79
Courtesy of Sarah Blake
Sarah Blake cradles her newborn at the hospital Monday.
Courtesy of Sarah Blake
Baby Asher Rome Smith was delivered on Interstate 79 en route to Washington Hospital Friday morning.
WAYNESBURG – Sarah Blake could never have imagined she would be delivering her baby boy herself in the passenger seat of a car as her 78-year-old father sped north on Interstate 79 heading to Washington Hospital Friday morning.
The 27-year-old stay-at-home mother of four thought she knew what she was in for with her latest pregnancy.
Asher Rome Smith was 5 pounds, 4 ounces and about five weeks early when he made his surprise, exciting appearance at 8:05 a.m. Both he and mom are doing well, Blake said in an interview Monday, although he is still being monitored at Washington Hospital for his weight.
“For being five weeks early, he’s a decent size,” she said, actually having a heavier birth weight than three of her now five kids.
The Waynesburg woman said her prior pregnancies were fairly normal. Though there had been few complications, her last child arrived at 35 weeks, and she was given medication to prevent preterm labor.
Contractions sent Blake to the hospital Thursday night, and she was later released. She recalls texting her fiancé and the soon-to-arrive baby’s father, Travis Smith, “‘I’m gonna end up having this baby at home.'”
She was almost right.
On Friday, she woke up and took her mother to work at 4:30 a.m. She later went to the store with a friend and recalls contractions starting around 6 a.m. At that point, she wasn’t in a lot of pain. Still doing alright and having been released from the hospital the night before, she didn’t think too much of it.
When she got home a short while later, her contractions were starting to get closer together and stronger. She started to feel some cramping, so she called her mother and asked her what she should do. Her mother told Blake to go to the hospital.
As she woke her father up to take her, her contractions were even more painful. But she still didn’t think it was all that urgent, so they didn’t call for an ambulance. She still wasn’t feeling that bad. They loaded up in the car.
As they were driving, Blake began to realize they might not make it to the hospital in time. She told her dad, Howard “Jim” Blake, they wouldn’t have time to drive through Waynesburg and wait at the traffic lights. They took Route 19 to the Ruff Creek exit and got on the interstate there.
All that was going through her mind was, “just get to the hospital, just get to the hospital.” Her dad was driving as fast as possible, Blake said about 90 mph.
A couple miles later, at the Marianna exit, Blake said her water broke. It wasn’t long after that her son was born. About three pushes were all it took.
“All of my labors have been that fast. Well, not that fast,” she said.
And the whole time, her father kept driving.
“He just kept going,” she said. “I don’t think he really knew. I don’t think he actually knew I was delivering until (the baby) was actually there.”
Blake said she never had the chance to tell her father her water broke. She couldn’t talk and he couldn’t tell if her screaming was just from pain or something else.
Blake said she was at first concerned because her son had some bruising on his face, mainly around the eyes and upper lip, as seen in a photo of him once he got swaddled at the hospital.
“He looks like he was beaten up,” Blake said.
Doctors said that was just a result of his quick delivery. Blake thought it may have also been from her upright sitting position in the car.
But otherwise, they’re doing well. Blake said her father was drained once they arrived at the hospital, and he needed to be taken to her room in a wheelchair. That adrenaline had taken a lot out of him, she said, and he offered some words of support while mostly focused on driving.
Everything about this delivery was different, she said. Labors for her previous four kids lasted about six hours, not the two that Asher took. She had epidurals with her first four, but that wasn’t an option this go around.
“I can’t say it was easy-breezy…” she said, adding it wasn’t terrible without the added help of medication. Not any harder or easier than her first four kids, just different.
Of course, this will be quite the story for years to come in the family, and Blake said relatives already have been abuzz. The only negative has been the fact that they need to steam clean the passenger seat.
Despite that small hassle, Blake is just thankful for all of the support from friends and family and that she has a healthy baby boy with a unique birth story.