BORN AT 60

The unique Donaghcloney baby arrived three and a half weeks earlier than expected in a location which no one could have predicted.

Finley’s mother Lisa was being driven to the hospital by her husband Ashley when her little boy made his unexpected entrance to the world.

With the surname Ward, Finley should have been destined to be delivered in a hospital, but his entry into the world was far from conventional. His official place of birth is the M1 motorway between Makro and Kennedy Way.

Lisa explained the circumstances which led to Finley’s dramatic arrival last Thursday morning.

She said: “My waters broke at 4.30am and we left the house at 6.30am. They tell you to stay in the house as long as you can. I probably would have left it later but Ashley didn’t want to get caught in rush hour traffic.”

Her husband continued: “I put a towel on her seat and a towel and basin on her lap in case she was sick. When we hit the motorway the traffic was building up but it was moving quite quickly. Lisa was feeling the urge to push going onto the motorway.

“The fast lane was going at about 80 so I just kept going at that speed. I wasn’t for driving like a maniac to put pressure on top of pressure. It had just started to slow down to 60 when she told me the head was out.

“Her seat couldn’t go back any more because the child’s seat is behind her. I had to help her get her seatbelt off and her trousers down. I checked and I could feel the head.”

Lisa said: “I was doing my breathing exercises and I tried to hold on, but then he was out. It was as well no lorries were looking down into the car. We were between Makro and Kennedy Way when he came out.”

Ashley said: “Lisa made a noise, not quite like a scream, but she made this noise and I knew the baby was out.

“She hadn’t made much noise up to then. She wasn’t screaming like those ones you see on TV in ‘One Born Every Minute’.

“The main thing I was worried about was that he was facing the wrong way or the cord was round his neck.

“I told her to get him up onto her chest. Make sure the cord wasn’t round him.

“I couldn’t pull in because we were so close to the hospital. All this happened while the car was moving.”

Lisa said: “I wrapped him up in the towel and held him close to me. I didn’t want to move him too much because the cord was still attached.”

Ashley added: “I phoned the midwife and said “It’s here - she’s had the child - what do we do? She said to scratch his feet and blow on his face to make him cry so we’d know he was ok. He didn’t make any sound. Lisa rubbed his head and he started making noises.

“The midwife told us there would be people at the door waiting for us. As soon as I got off the motorway I put the hazard lights on and went straight through a red light on the way to the maternity ward.”

Lisa said: “When I arrived I got the cord clamped and then they had to give me an injection which helps clear out the afterbirth. I said I didn’t need it.”

Ashley said: “She was ok to have a child in the car but was petrified of the needle afterwards.”

He continued: “We were in on Thursday