Baby born in car on way to Marshfield hospital

MARSHFIELD –

Ciara Bauer, 22, of Spencer knew she needed to get to the hospital when her water broke in the bathroom of her home early Tuesday morning.

Her first child, 16-month-old Graham, was born within 45 minutes of her water breaking, but baby Gianna Nichole couldn't wait that long. She was born in the back seat of her parents' car as Ciara Bauer's husband, John, 23, sped down Highway 13 past Mills Fleet Farm in Marshfield.

"Everything happened so fast," she said.

Ciara Bauer was excited about the arrival of her baby when she began having contractions Sunday and Monday. She planned to wait until her contractions were about 10 minutes apart to leave for the hospital, but her labor escalated quickly when she had one long contraction early Tuesday morning.

She told her husband to call his mother, who lives about three minutes away, to come watch their son so they could head to the hospital. Her water broke at home before her mother-in-law arrived.

The Bauers started down Highway 13 toward Ministry Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital in Marshfield with Ciara in the back seat and John on the phone with emergency dispatchers at the same time he was encouraging his wife and baby Gianna to wait just a few more minutes.

"It was ... halfway to Marshfield and the head was already coming out," John Bauer said. He didn't pull over because emergency dispatchers told him to keep driving. "Right around Fleet Farm heading down (Highway) 13 is when Ciara delivered her in the back seat."

"When I delivered her, I was kind of scared," Ciara Bauer said. "I grabbed her and rubbed her chest to make sure she cried."

Hospital staff cut the umbilical cord, determined 6-pound 5 ounce, 19-inch Gianna Nichole was healthy and ushered the family to the hospital's birth center.

Nurse Katie Trimble said babies born outside the birth center are examined for any signs of distress, and a special delivery kit is used to examine babies born in the ER or the ambulance bay.

"We keep a close eye on all our babies," she said.

The Bauers were scheduled to return to their Spencer home Wednesday afternoon.

Reporter Marisa Cuellar can be reached at 715-384-3131. Find her on Twitter as @cuellm34.