Stuck at a red light, mom delivers own baby in car

HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. (KATU) — When Olya Bogush and Yuri Rusakov told family and friends they wanted a "low intervention" birth, they didn't mean quite like what happened Thursday.

Just across the freeway from the Birth and Delivery center at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital, their new baby decided she couldn't wait to come out.

"When I saw that she was coming out," said Olya from her hospital room Friday, "I was like no, no, no -- Lord, keep her in there. Help me."

The best Yuri could do from the driver's seat was try to get to the hospital as fast as he could. But he was stuck at a red light.

That's when Olya took matters--the baby, rather--into her own hands. She pulled 7-pound Adalina out by herself, in the back seat of a Ford Fusion.

People in nearby cars could sense this was no ordinary commute.

"I think a lady noticed that she didn’t have a baby, and then she did have a baby. She was like, ‘Whoa,’" said Yuri. "I saw her say his lady is having a baby next to me, so she was stunned, I’m sure."

Olya checked to see if the baby was breathing, and that the umbilical cord wasn't wrapped around the baby's neck.

Yuri sped for the hospital parking lot.

"He’s like in panic mode in the parking lot, and I’m like, 'Slow down, it’s OK, she’s slippery, I don’t have a seat belt on,'" said Olya.

The Sunnyside staff came running out to meet them, what they call a "code stork" in the baby delivery business, and got everyone inside.

The couple lives in Vancouver, but they wanted to have their baby at Sunnyside.

"We probably would have made it, but as we were leaving home, I was like, 'Grab this, and grab that,' so we had to run back a few times," said Olya. "Somebody was on his case, like, 'Why didn’t you take her earlier?' And I’m like, 'No, I’m the one who said when to go or not go. Don’t blame dad.'"

Everybody in the family is doing fine, including Adalina's 2-year old sister (not born in a car).

In fact, Olya may be doing better than ever.

"I felt empowered. And proud. It’s cool. Like, how often do you get to catch your own baby?" she said.