Baby Born on the Tube: Mom Gives Birth to Baby in London Subway Station
Can you imagine? A pregnant British woman got off her London Underground subway train and all of a sudden, her water broke and she went into labor on the platform. Paramedics were called, who decided that there wasn’t enough time to get her to hospital. And 35 minutes later she gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the station supervisor’s office.
Even though millions of people use the London subways every day, she’s only the second baby to be born in the London Underground’s 125 year history. The only other baby was born way back in 1924 in a south London station.
That’s just counting regular operation of the tube trains. During World War II, the underground train tunnels and platforms were used as air raid shelters, for London’s residents to shelter from German planes bombing the city. Thousands of Londoners often had to spend nights underground and several babies were born in the tunnels. Can you guess who the most famous baby is? Jerry Springer – yes, the talk show host – was born in East Finchley tube station in 1944 at the height of the German attacks on London.
I wonder if this baby girl will receive a lifetime of free travel on the London Underground? That’s what happened to a baby born on a San Francisco’s BART train – the baby was given a lifetime pass to ride the BART trains for free, and some babies born on airplanes have been given a lifetime of free air travel. It’s almost worth having a baby in an odd place for the freebies!