Hospital sent pregnant UK woman home, but hours later she gave birth in a KFC car park while rushing back; names her newborn ‘Colonel Cody’
A baby’s name is often chosen for its meaning, family history or cultural tradition. But for Katie Murphy, 33, and Stephen Kirby, 32, the choice came down to circumstance and a car park that would define their son’s entire origin story. Katie and her partner welcomed their son in unexpected circumstances, which prompted them to name him after KFC’s famous founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, news agency SWNS reported.
Hours after being sent home, woman goes into labour on the A38
Pic credit: Stephen Kirby/SWNS
It was August 29. Katie Murphy and her partner drove to the hospital early in the morning after she felt the baby was coming. The doctors examined her, told her everything was fine and sent her back home. The contractions had started before they left the hospital, intensifying during the thirty-minute drive back to Bromsgrove. “They got more intense when we were at home, but Katie didn’t want to go back to [the] hospital yet in case we were turned away,” Kirby told the outlet.Eight hours later, the contractions grew stronger. The couple had no choice but to head to the hospital again. “Finally, at around 9 p.m., she was in so much discomfort that we just said, ‘Let’s go,’ and I got her in a car to get to the hospital,” he said. “The drive is around half an hour, but around halfway through the journey, Katie said she could feel something and knew the baby was coming,” Kirby said. He was on the phone to get an ambulance. “They were asking what our location was, but we were on the A38, and there was nowhere to pull in.” The A38 traffic hummed around them, with no exits in sight.
Giving birth in KFC’s car park
Pic credit: Stephen Kirby/SWNS
That’s when Kirby saw the KFC. Not a hospital, not an ambulance station, but a car park with pavement, light and witnesses. He knew this was their salvation. It was the KFC they frequented. He pulled in at 9:35 p.m. “Thankfully, I saw the KFC we often go to and pulled into the car park,” he said.As they pulled into the space, the woman could feel her baby’s head emerging. Kirby raced around to the passenger side, opened the door and caught their newborn before anything else happened. And there he was: a baby boy, born in a car in a fast-food car park. “When the ambulance dispatcher was trying to locate our location, the only place we could find was the KFC. As my partner pulled into the car park, and as he made his way round to the passenger side and opened the door, he caught my son just in time,” the new mum told the agency.
They named him Colonel Cody
Pic credit: Stephen Kirby/SWNS
The baby was in perfect health. The newborn weighed 7 lb, 8 oz. Now was the time to name the baby. They named him Cody. But it came with a nickname: Colonel Cody, after KFC’s Colonel Harland Sanders.“We call him Colonel Cody, and I think that nickname will definitely stick with him for life,” the mother said.The fast-food restaurant chain was undoubtedly glad to hear the family nicknaming the baby after its founder. In a statement, a KFC spokesperson said, “We’re honoured to have been the place of Cody’s birth and are sending bucket loads of love to the whole family, along with some KFC merch and vouchers to help them celebrate. We can’t wait to welcome them back for a meal to mark the occasion.”The new parents are already planning his first birthday trip. Back to the same KFC; a homecoming of sorts. There’s talk of a weekend job when he’s old enough, a joke that might not stay a joke. “We were famous amongst the midwifery staff, and they even ordered KFC for dinner. It was decided that we have to take him to KFC for his first birthday and get him his first weekend job there,” the mum said.Minutes after giving birth, the ambulance arrived and took the family to the hospital. “It all happened so fast. Thankfully, the ambulance was with us about five minutes later and took us to the hospital. Despite his abrupt entrance into the world in his dad’s car, Cody is in perfect health and is doing great,” the new mum recalled. The mother and the newborn got the medical attention they needed. And Cody’s unusual birth is a one-of-a-kind story that is sure to dominate family dinner conversations for years to come. “It was definitely not the birth I expected, but it was worth every bit of pain, and now he has a very weird story to tell his school friends when he grows up,” Katie Murphy said.
