Baby avoids being born on Auckland’s Northern Motorway thanks to police

Shraddha and Gaurav Patil with their baby boy, Aarav. Photo / NZ Police

Shraddha and Gaurav Patil feared they’d be welcoming their first child into the world on a gridlocked Auckland motorway, until a quick-thinking police officer came to the rescue.

Constable Shaw had finished his shift and was driving on the Northern Motorway back to Orewa police station yesterday afternoon when he noticed a car - with hazard lights on - pulled over in the emergency stopping lane.

“I went and spoke to the driver to make sure everything was okay. There was a woman in the back seat, clearly in labour.”

Expectant dad Gaurav Patil had missed the turn-off to the North Shore Birthing Unit and, with traffic heavy, both were “understandably distressed”.

The policeman initially tried to escort the couple to the hospital, but after a couple of kilometres he pulled over and told them to hop in his patrol car, whisking them to the birthing unit under lights and siren.

“Traffic was ridiculous.”

He then walked them up to the birthing suite, he said, of the “once-in-a-career opportunity”.

“Hopefully it made a difference to them and meant she could deliver safely – not on the side of the motorway.”

Patil’s wife went into labour at 4am yesterday and by the time they decided to drive to hospital about 2pm, she was in a lot of pain, Patil said.

“It was a very tense moment. I missed the exit for some reason and unfortunately the motorway was just jam-packed. I started sweating and I called 111.

“The next minute Constable Shaw stopped for us.”

"Oh baby! Police assist in a very special delivery" A quick-thinking Police officer has helped a couple get to hospital for the arrival of their first child, despite gridlock traffic nearly forcing a motorway birth. Gaurav and Shraddha Patil welcomed their beautiful baby boy, Aarav, at 7.30am on Friday 26 May, weighing a healthy 3.38kgs. Photo.NZ Police

As it turned out, the couple had some time to spare, with their baby boy, Aarav, arriving at 7.30am this morning, weighing a healthy 3.38 kilograms (7lb 7oz).

Patil hadn’t had much time to thank the policeman, he said.

“I cannot express how relieved we were to see him. The way Constable Shaw helped us, it was just amazing.”