Gave birth while driving through Hvalfjörður tunnel

Harpa Marín Þórarinsdóttir and Páll Steinar Sigurbjörnsson welcomed their third child on Monday — under extraordinary circumstances, as their son was born in a moving car in the middle of the Hvalfjörður tunnel.

"This wasn't quite how we imagined it," said Sigurbjörnsson in an interview with mbl.is.

The couple, who live in Mosfellsbær, had decided to give birth at the West Iceland Health Institution in Akranes, as the drive there is roughly the same length as to the National University Hospital in Reykjavík.

On Monday morning, they headed to Akranes to begin the induction process, as Þórarinsdóttir had shown some dilation.

Water broke in the hallway

“The midwife figured it probably wouldn’t take many doses and even told us to take a little drive around Akranes after the first pill to see what happens,” said Sigurbjörnsson, adding that the pills had little effect at first.

They returned home to Mosfellsbær, and around 3 p.m., Þórarinsdóttir began experiencing contractions. They called the hospital, which said they could come in for a check, though based on the symptoms, they might be sent home again. Shortly after, the contractions stopped altogether.

“Around five o’clock we were just sitting at the kitchen table playing a game, thinking nothing was happening. Our older son was with a babysitter, and I had already told the grandparents that things were probably still a way off,” said Sigurbjörnsson.

At about five o’clock, Þórarinsdóttir took the fifth induction pill. Sigurbjörnsson then suggested they go for a walk to change the setting. At 5:30 p.m., as they were in their hallway putting on shoes, Þórarinsdóttir’s water broke.

They immediately contacted the hospital and quickly got in the car. As soon as they started driving, Þórarinsdóttir went into labor.

“I looked down and saw just the top of his head”

“When I drove into the tunnel, I called the hospital to let them know someone needed to be ready to receive us, because this could happen very soon based on how things were progressing.

So the midwife was on the phone right there in the middle of the tunnel, and my wife, in full-blown labor, suddenly felt she needed to take her pants off,” Sigurbjörnsson said, adding that Þórarinsdóttir asked the midwife if she could push.

“She answered very calmly that it would be good to wait if possible, but at that moment I looked down and saw just the top of his head. I supported his head with my right hand and tried not to crash with my left.

Then the rest of him came out, and I told Þórarinsdóttir that she had to take him. She took him from me, held him to her chest, and he cried right away.”

Their son was born at 18:01, just half an hour after her water broke.

"A bit surreal"

“This wasn't quite how we pictured it,” said Sigurbjörnsson, but added that everyone is doing well now.

Asked how it felt to realize their son would be born in the middle of the tunnel, he replied:

“It was honestly a bit surreal. At first, we wondered if he was breathing and everything, but the fact that he came out crying helped calm us down. Still, you could definitely feel that a sort of ‘fight or flight’ mode kicked in.”

Wouldn’t recommend giving birth in a tunnel

An ambulance was dispatched from Akranes, but the couple ended up driving all the way to the hospital themselves.

Asked about the hospital staff’s reaction, Sigurbjörnsson said the calmness of the midwife on the phone was especially helpful.

And how do they feel about the experience in hindsight? Is it just a fun story now?

“We wouldn’t exactly recommend that anyone try to give birth in a tunnel, especially not in a moving car. But yes, it’s a fun story in hindsight, though we definitely recommend giving birth in a hospital,” Sigurbjörnsson concluded.

Páll and Harpa with their older son earlier this summer. Photo/Submitted