When a Texas mom of two went into early labor during the winter storm Uri, she ended up giving birth to a baby girl in her car.
It was a freezing 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 degrees Celsius) outside when the 1-pound, 11-ounce (765-gram) “miracle baby” made her debut to the world on Texas State Highway 75 as her father was driving their way through slippery roads to a hospital in Dallas.
“I was worried we were going to lose her,” mother Helen Woldemichael told Today. “She was so tiny. I didn’t think she was going to make it. That was terrifying.”
Helen then initiated skin-to-skin to keep her newborn warm while her husband, Abiey, cranked up the car’s heater.
On the way to the hospital, Abiey had called an ambulance, reported Today. However, they had been placed on hold, and eventually had to pull the car over to deliver.
“I remember pushing... but it happened so fast,” Helen told the outlet. “I was in total shock.”
Helen revealed that she had no reason to think she might go into early labor, according to the report. She has two other children, both of whom were full-term pregnancies.
When Helen started having contractions with Amari, at first she wrote them off as Braxton Hicks or false contractions. However, she soon realized she was going into labor.
“She is the strongest woman that I’ve ever known,” Abiey said of his wife. “What she did is absolutely amazing.
“The way she managed to stay calm—she’s a rock star.”
The couple named their baby girl “Amari,” which means “miracle of God” in Hebrew.
Amari is doing well in the NICU now. The miracle girl already weighs 2 pounds (907 grams) and can breathe on her own, the report said.
“She’s doing really good right now, but the doctors told us to be prepared for two steps forward, one step back,’” Helen told Today. “We’re hopeful, but we don’t know what could happen tomorrow.”
The doctors are hopeful Amari will be able to go home with her family this May.
