Darren Hughes, deputy mayor of Wellington, arrived in hospital in the middle of his labour and gave birth to baby girl in just 24 hours
New Zealand politician cycles to hospital in labor, gives birth
A New Zealand politician delivered a baby girl in just 24 hours and then cyclist and politician Darren Hughes took it in turns to drive the new arrival to hospital so that he could be involved with the birth, the Post reported.
The Labour party’s deputy mayor of Wellington was delivering the baby in his fourth trimester on Thursday when the Labour MP Sharon Claydon texted him about the birth.
Hughes, 43, was rushed to hospital and arrived in the middle of his labour to meet his new daughter.
“No time to lose in these things,” Hughes said.
When Hughes saw the moment he was prepared to hit the road to get the baby to hospital.
“But there is a time to catch up with friends,” he said.
“And then there is a time to catch up with the baby.”
Hughes, who was born in the US and was brought up in Auckland, was focused on getting his daughter to hospital on time and was ready to complete his cycle to the hospital.
He went on to do two more cycle journeys to finish his planned seven-mile cycle through the City Collective.
The Mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown, tweeted: “We’re in love.”
Lee Jenkins, senior reporter for The Press, said it was a historic journey for council staffers given the difficult conditions.
“Darren’s biking around Wellington on a broken one in the middle of his labour. … Remember when Willie Patel or even Matt Smith took a bike on for the treatment of David, the law graduate who died while on vacation in Ibiza?”
Claydon said on social media: “How wonderful is this?”
After the birth, Hughes described himself as a great dad, with a beaming smile on his face and a sleepy baby girl asleep in his arms.
Claydon later tweeted that the new addition to her family would always be a family priority.
“Not a day goes by I don’t think about Jess and Ross and Nico – the two boys in my life who are older than Luna,” she wrote.
“What a precious time in life and Luna is going to be your best friend forever.”