A Cape Cod couple welcomed their daughter into the world in an unexpected setting—right in the middle of traffic!
Rebecca and Danya Mahota were on their way to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth on August 8th, excited and ready to meet their daughter, Summer. But as they cruised along the highway, Summer decided she couldn’t wait any longer.
“She just started screaming, ‘She’s coming!’” Danya recalled. With Rebecca in obvious distress, Danya knew they weren’t going to make it to the hospital in time. He quickly pulled over to the side of the road, hoping for some privacy behind the bushes.
With no medical training, Danya found himself stepping up as an impromptu midwife. “I reach down between my wife’s legs, and sure enough, I feel the top of my daughter’s head,” he said. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Danya tried to keep both himself and Rebecca calm. “I told her, ‘Okay baby, well, let’s just go slow and figure it out.’”
In the passenger seat of their vehicle, Rebecca delivered their daughter with Danya’s help. Once Summer’s cries filled the car, they knew she was healthy. “My wife was amazing. She went through a checklist like she was inspecting a luxury car, making sure everything was fine,” Danya added, clearly in awe of Rebecca’s composure.
After ensuring both mom and baby were okay, the couple knew they couldn’t stay parked on the side of the busy highway. With their newborn safe, they carefully resumed their drive, stopping at a Dunkin’ in Sagamore Beach where paramedics met them.
In a moment that perfectly encapsulates the Massachusetts spirit, Danya was handed a sterilized X-Acto knife to cut the umbilical cord right there in the Dunkin’ parking lot.
Rebecca and Summer were then transported to the hospital for observation. While recovering, the couple realized they were missing a couple of important items: Rebecca’s phone and Danya’s wedding ring, which had slipped off during the chaotic birth.
Thanks to GPS tracking, they quickly located the phone. The ring, however, was a bit trickier to find. But with the help of friends, a metal detector, and some persistence, Danya eventually located it near the spot where Summer was born. “It had slipped off my finger while I was delivering her,” the new dad recalled.
Reflecting on the wild experience, Rebecca expressed her gratitude for Danya’s quick thinking and steady hands. “He managed to deliver her safely and made sure I didn’t injure myself in the process. It’s incredible,” she said.
Despite the unexpected and dramatic entrance into the world, the couple is overjoyed with their healthy baby girl, whom they’ve affectionately dubbed “the show stopper.”
“She had her own plan for arriving, and it was definitely a show-stopping entrance,” Rebecca said, laughing.
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