A first-time mom gave birth in the car on the way to the hospital in front of her entire family – after her midwife mom hypnotized her to help her go into labor.
Madelin Bryans, 21, was three days past her due date with her first baby and was keen to get labor underway.
Her mom, Darcey Croft, 50, is a trained hypnotist and midwife and suggested they do a session to induce labor and help her handle the pain.
Madelin agreed and did the session, despite her doubts, then went to bed.
Hours later, she woke up to use the bathroom in the night, and as she sat down her body began to push.
Single Madelin and her mom, dad, and sister sped to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in their 2008 Chrysler Grand Voyager.
But just halfway there, driving along the A413, Madelin yelled that they needed to pull over because her water had broken.
Madelin gave birth to baby Delilah on April 22, 2022, with help from her mom, dad, and sister, as she lay across the back seat of their car with her legs resting against the passenger window.
Madelin, a marketer from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, said: “I did the hypnosis just to humor my mom, really.
“When I woke in the night, I felt a little bit of pain, but I thought it was nothing.
“Even after I started pushing and we were jumping into the car, I was still cracking jokes.
“When I was in labor in the car, I had my head at one door and my legs at the other.
“Luckily we brought towels to catch most of the mess.”
Madelin’s due date of April 19, 2022, came and went, but she wasn’t showing signs of labor.
Two days later, mom Darcey, founder of Isomum – a pre- and postnatal energy drink company – suggested a hypnotherapy session to bring on the labor.
So Darcey ran a session where she explained how to treat pain like a dial, which Madelin could “twist down” to reduce the pain mentally.
Madelin felt no pain going to bed that night, but woke up later feeling stomach cramps similar to period pains.
Because the pain was mild, she assumed it couldn’t be labor – and even napped a bit longer.
But eventually she woke up to use the bathroom and woke up her mom, dad David Bryans, 48, and sister.
She said: “I went to the bathroom and my body started pushing automatically.
“We all jumped in the car to go to the hospital around 3 AM.
“Twenty minutes from the hospital, I felt my water break, and we pulled over by a construction site.
“There were moments when the pain got too much, and I could control it using the methods from the hypnosis.
“I had my head near one door and my legs against the other window – I just stayed calm and carried on.”
Baby Delilah was born at 5:20 AM, weighing 7 lbs 4 oz.
Darcey tied off the umbilical cord while her other daughter cut it, and they sped off to the hospital to finish the process.
Madelin said: “After giving birth, my thoughts were like, ‘What the hell just happened?’”
Three years on, little Delilah is doing well – and Madelin looks forward to the day she can explain the birth story to her daughter.
She added: “People can’t believe it when I tell them what happened.
“It’s lucky my mom is a midwife.”
Proud grandma Darcey added: “I have delivered countless babies as a midwife, so I snapped out of being Madelin’s mom to give her what she needed.
“But being in a car on a divided highway at 5 AM wasn’t ideal!
“It was amazing though – I know I sound biased, but of all the births I’ve ever seen, it was one of the most beautiful.
“Now Delilah is bright as a button – from the moment Madelin held her in her arms, they were the perfect team.”
