A woman gave birth to her daughter while stuck in traffic on Cape Cod earlier this month, with the father cutting the umbilical cord in a Dunkin’ parking lot.
Danya Mahota said his wife Rebecca gave birth on Route 6 in Barnstable while the two were headed to the hospital in Plymouth. They said they were not even halfway into the hour-long drive on Aug. 8 when Rebecca’s water broke.
“I said, ‘She’s coming, we’re out of time,” said Rebecca Mahota.
“She said, ‘She’s coming now,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean she’s coming now?’ She said, ‘She’s coming now,’ and she grabbed my hand and put it down by her thigh, and sure enough I felt the top of my daughter’s head,” said Danya Mahota.
Danya Mahota, who said he doesn’t have any medical experience, delivered baby Summer in the passenger’s seat.
After calling the hospital, they said doctors advised them to pull over into the nearest parking lot — which was the Dunkin’ in Sagamore.
First responders met them at the coffee shop and let Danya Mahota cut the umbilical cord.
“And like I’ve been joking with everybody, like every Massachusetts father should, I was able to cut my daughter’s umbilical cord in the Dunkie’s parking lot,” Danya Mahota said.
He said he was in awe of his wife during the delivery.
“Like the hero she is, she just did what moms do, and I have to say I was completely taken aback just witnessing the maternal instincts of my wife,” Danya Mahota said.
“She grabbed that baby, patted it on the back, got her crying, did like a 150-point Mercedes Benz inspection on her — checked her fingers, toes, behind her ears — it was amazing,” he continued.
Later in the hospital, the couple’s older daughter, Kendall, was able to meet her baby sister.
Rebecca Mahota credits her ability to stay calm with the strength of her husband.
“When I realized this was going to happen, we were doing this, I had full confidence in his abilities to make sure that she was delivered safely,” she said.
The couple said Rebecca and their new daughter Summer are healthy and doing well.
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