All aboard! Woman delivers baby while on bus in Philadelphia

Delivering her baby on a SEPTA Route 55 bus in Philadelphia was not part of Makira Williams’ birth plan. And yet, babies sometimes have their own opinions on when they’d like to arrive on the scene.

Speaking with ABC 6 in Philadelphia, Williams said, “I am still in shock actually. I can’t believe I just had a baby on the bus.”

Williams’ due date wasn’t until July 21st, so when she got on the bus at around 9 a.m. on June 26th, she didn’t expect for a moment that she was about to go into labor.

“That happens in movies, or TV shows, not in real life,” she said.

While some might suspect the bumpiness of the bus route played a factor, there’s no question that everything that happened afterwards proceeded very quickly. The bus driver pulled over, and two pushes later, Williams’ son Mazir arrived, weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces.

“Somebody had scissors, trying to cut the umbilical cord and I am like ‘oh no.’ I know you are trying to cut the umbilical cord but no, you have to wait for the ambulance to stay on the safe side,” said Williams.

“I have never heard of an occasion in the 27 years that I have been here that someone actually had a baby on board the bus,” said Shwana Rogers with SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.

Williams is so appreciative of the bus driver’s quick thinking, and fellow passengers who helped with the delivery, including one in particular who actually delivered baby Mazir. Unfortunately, in the chaos of getting off bus and into an ambulance to the hospital, Williams never got the woman’s name and a chance to show her appreciation.

“I just want to keep saying ‘I thank you’ to the girl, I wish I would have gotten her name because I don’t want to keep calling her the girl. She was just so helpful. Now she knows how to deliver a baby whether she knows it or not, now she knows how to deliver a baby,” said Williams.

We hope she finds the woman who helped deliver baby Mazir. One thing’s for sure: what an incredible birth story!