A baby boy was born in a gym after a Melbourne couple realised that they wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time.
Mother Rachel Eastwood went into labour on July 29 with her fourth son, Daniel, but she and her husband Peter realised they had to change their plans.
‘By the end of the street, I think Pete realised very quickly that we weren’t going to make it to the hospital,’ she told 7News on Thursday.
‘So, very quickly, (we) started sort of problem solving around what our options were.
‘Being members of the gym, Pete thought of the gym because he thought, well, there’s a room that has towels heating.
‘That’s probably a much better option than the side of the road.’
Mr Eastwood rang their midwife Sharon Williams to tell her about their new plan.
The couple then rushed to the gym Strong & Stable in The Basin, eastern Melbourne, where the owner provided them with a room and bed.
‘It was just instinct, really. You just know what to do. You just want her to be safe. Her baby to be safe,’ Ms Williams said about the decision.
‘It was great. We had privacy. We had a room that was warm, lots of towels,’ Ms Williams said.
‘So it all worked really well.’
Daniel was born within 10 minutes, before the paramedics had even made it to the gym.
The family was then taken to hospital before being discharged later that night.