Navy dad delivers baby son in car on way to the hospital

A U.S. Navy Master at Arms had just three days of leave from training to be there for his son’s birth. As he drove from Virginia back home to South Carolina, he said a prayer that he would be able to be a part of the birth. Rob Millerbernd's prayer was answered when he ended up delivering his baby in the car on the way to the hospital.

Rob was rushing his wife, Nikki, to the hospital around 2 a.m. on Aug. 9 when her water broke, WCSC reports. The couple's fourth child, Wyatt, was scheduled for induction at 4 p.m. that day. But the infant didn’t want to wait, and Nikki entered active labor.

"I called 911 to tell them what was going on," Rob told the station. "They told me they would send an alert to the officers with the car description. I had my caution lights on and ran a red light."

Around 2:30 a.m., Rob pulled the car over just as Wyatt started to crown. In a terrifying moment, he realized that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his son's neck. The father said he performed a "delicate dance" to unwrap the cord to allow the newborn to breathe. Thankfully, Wyatt started to cry and Rob returned to the driver's seat to take his wife and newborn to the East Cooper Medical Center.

Hospital officials say that a security video shows the family's car arriving at the ER at 2:37 a.m. There, both Nikki and Wyatt were evaluated, and Rob was allowed to cut the umbilical cord.

"Finally got my boy!" Rob said of his healthy 7 pounds, 3 oz. son. Rob is also the proud father of three daughters, Hayleigh, 10, Eliza, 7, and Natalie, 2.

Millerbernd is currently back in Virginia to complete his training and will rejoin his family in September before being deployed in October.

Robert Millerbernd and an East Cooper Medical Center representative did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

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