Every time I hear a story about a mom who gave birth in a place not designated for delivering a baby, my first thought is “Better her than me.” But then I think about the fact that she was able to have a baby without any of the things that make birth safe and less scary. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have a baby in a parking lot or restaurant bathroom. It happens, however, and those moms are superheroes. Pilar Weidman, a mom in Arizona, didn’t anticipate giving birth in the parking lot of a Carl’s Jr. But then she did, and she believes that it taught her an important lesson about herself.
Weidman gave birth to her fourth child, a son, in May 2024. You’d think the birth of a fourth child would be nothing exciting, but that was far from the case.
“I waited until the last minute,” Weidman told Today about the day she gave birth. “I was straightening my hair, probably shouldn’t have been and then I realized the contractions were way too close and way too painful. It was time to go.”
Her mistake wouldn’t have been so bad, but she was an hour away from the closest hospital and knew that she didn’t have an hour before she gave birth.
As she and her husband, Dustin, set off for the hospital, the mom “knew we didn’t have much time,” she told the outlet. Despite her “freaking out,” her husband remained surprisingly calm. “It was excruciating — I couldn’t even scream,” she recalled of her labor pains.
They made it to a nearby medical center, but they were turned away because the center didn’t have a maternity ward. That’s when she began to get mad at her husband for not calling 911. Apparently, he thought she was being “dramatic.”
Back on the road, she knew that she wasn’t making it to the hospital. Instead, she just needed to get someplace relatively safe to have her baby. That place ended up being a Carl’s Jr. parking lot.
Dustin called 911, and the operator asked if the baby was crowning. Before Weidman could reply, she began to feel burning pressure. She let out a “primal noise,” gripped her car door, and with one big push, a 6 lb., 5-oz. baby boy was born.
The couple had agreed to name him David, but based on his birth location, some people thought they should rethink their choice. “Everyone kept begging us to call him Carl,” she told the outlet. But for better or worse, the couple stuck with their original name.
Despite not naming the baby Carl, Weidman revealed that the company sent a gift basket after her story went viral. Carl’s Jr. gave the family with a rubber duck, small toys, a pacifier, and a $100 gift card to get some food.
“It was really sweet,” the mom said. “Not worth giving birth in a car for, but sweet.”
Even though she’d never want to repeat the “wild experience,” it taught her an important lesson. “I’m stronger than I think,” she said.
Recently, Weidman recalled her son’s birth on her Facebook. She shared pictures from the day, including a group selfie with the “tall, incredibly good-looking firefighters” who came to the family’s rescue. There’s also a video of the moment a first responder cut David’s umbilical cord.
If she gets pregnant again, it’s safe to guess she won’t worry about straightening her hair before heading to the hospital!
