As an ᴏʙsᴛᴇᴛʀɪᴄɪᴀɴ, you are used to seeing all types of births, but one woman could not have predicted how ᴄʜᴀᴏᴛɪᴄ her own birth would be. In an Instagram video posted on Oct. 24, Dr. Gabriela Correia, 33, is shown having a baby in a gas station parking lot. Correia was joined by her husband, Gilberto Godoy, doula Joana Nunes, fellow O.B/G.Y.N Larissa Gomes and photographer Deborah Ghelman, who documented the entire ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀʏ.
When they knew they would not make it to the hospital in time, they called fellow ᴏʙsᴛᴇᴛʀɪᴄɪᴀɴ Larissa Gomes, doula Joana Nunes and birth photographer Deborah Ghelman. The two women would bring Correia and her husband’s son Arthur into the world from the back seat of their car, while parked at a petrol station. Correia said: “It was something very fast and it surprised me a lot. When I saw that I was already nine centimetres, there was that fear, that ᴀɴɢᴜɪsʜ of the transport process and the fear of ‘will I be able to make it on time or not?’ There was no time, but I had very good support.”
Correia and her birth photographer shared a video and series of photographs on social media and it quickly went viral; viewed by thousands of people around the world. The video caption reads: “They say that the body makes its own movement following instincts between the pavements. But you have to surrender, speak your power, manifest. And when the time is right, without panic and with knowledge, the light will come.”
Ghelman, a very experienced photographer, revealed this was the first out-of-hospital birth she’s ever witnessed and photographed. She said: “I’m still getting over it. First time I’ve photographed a birth outside of a hospital in my whole life. It was a mixture of feelings, but I didn’t feel afraid at any moment. Everyone was in the car laughing and very happy.” However, whilst the story of Arthur’s birth is a ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ story the family will tell for years to come, it is not the first ᴄʜᴀᴏᴛɪᴄ birth Correia has experienced.
Correia revealed her first son, Dante, also came in a surprising way. She said: “Dante was also a very different birth, he was born in the bathtub…My first birth was very beautiful. I imagined that this one would be overcome with emotion, not all this ᴍᴀᴅɴᴇss, but it really was and I have two very good stories to tell.” Artur, who was born on Oct. 24, has already been discharged from the hospital and is home with his family. Correia said: “He’s super healthy and wonderful.” She also thanked her support network: “Everyone involved in the birth had been with me through difficult times. I went through the ʟᴏss of my first child, and it was very ᴘᴀɪɴꜰᴜʟ. They were with me and supported me during that process. So, it’s a long journey I’ve had with them.”
