Molly Kilkenney, a beautiful, blue-eyed baby girl, popped into the world early this morning in the front seat of her parents’ car.
An interesting time. An unusual place.
But there, ready to catch her as she emerged from her mother’s womb, were the experienced hands of a family practice physician – her father.
“I had a baby in the car,” her mother, Catie Kilkenney, said wonderingly. She was sitting in a bed at Metro Health hospital on Thursday afternoon, June 6, cuddling little Molly.
Nearby sat the proud father, Dr. Adam Kilkenney, and the big brother, 2-year-old Owen. In that calm setting, it was hard to believe the drama that unfolded just 14 hours earlier.
Catie Kilkenney was 38 weeks pregnant, with a due date of June 18. She had been having contractions on and off for more than week. About 12:30 that morning, in their Gaines Township home, she woke up with contractions.
They were 10 minutes apart, so she and her husband monitored them for a while. As they became more frequent around 2 a.m., they decided to see how the next two contractions went before deciding whether to go to the hospital.
With the second contraction, Catie’s water broke. And suddenly, labor became very, very intense.
It was 2:04 a.m.
A babysitter hurried over to watch Owen, and the Kilkenneys got in their Ford Flex and started driving to the hospital. At one point, Adam told Catie it was probably too late to get an epidural.
“I told him to shut up,” Catie said.
Catie was trying hard not to push, but it wasn’t easy.
“My body just took over,” she said. “Completely.”
Before the car even left their subdivision, Catie cried out, “Adam!” And she said a four-letter word that starts with ‘S.’
Adam stopped the car.
“And then out she comes,” Catie said.
“Her head comes out, and then he jumps out of the car, wrenches open the door and says ‘OK, give me another push,’ and the rest of her comes out.”
There, in the front seat, Adam caught the baby. He told his wife, “We got Molly.”
He found a clamp in the doctor’s kit he keeps in the car. Using that and a bit of lightweight rope, he tied off the umbilical cord, and then cut the cord. He laid Molly on her mother’s chest and wrapped her in a blanket.
It was 2:38 a.m. – 34 minutes after the water broke.
Molly gave a little cry. And she started nursing.
“She is absolutely wonderful,” Catie said, snuggling her baby Thursday afternoon. “A trooper. A tough cookie. She just kind of came out and rolled with it.”
“She’s perfect,” Adam agreed.
After Molly was born, Adam called the emergency department at Metro Health, where he practices, to say he had just delivered his baby in the car and they were on their way in.
Through it all, Adam remained calm and confident, Catie said, and that helped keep her from panicking.
“He went into automatic this-is-what-we-have-to-do mode,” she said. “There was no panic. None.”
Adam, a 2008 graduate from Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, did his family practice residency at Metro Health. He credited the training he received with helping him stay calm in an emergency, even one involving his wife and child.
“In that kind of situation, the doctor kind of takes over,” he said. “You know you have to take care of things.”
Both mother and baby were doing fine Thursday afternoon. Catie weighed a healthy 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and measured 20 inches. She had a full head of sandy brown hair.
“Perfect,” Catie said. “Perfect, perfect.”
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