Expectant parents in a town in Sweden are being offered training on how to give birth in a car, in case they don't make it to the hospital in time.
Two midwives from Solleftea, in northern Sweden, are offering to teach to parents-to-be how to deliver a baby in a vehicle following the news that their local maternity ward would be closing at the end of January.
Stina Naslund told The Local she hoped this would help them feel safer on the journey to the next closest maternity unit, which is at least 120km away.
"If you think that it will be something between 120 and 200 kilometres to the nearest maternity ward, it's winter, it's dark, there's a bad mobile signal, anything can happen on the way," she said.
"You have to be ready, and the worst could happen even if it is very, very uncommon."
Keep in mind that a quick delivery may be needed for a first time mother. That's a challenge.
The course will cover the practicalities of making a long journey with a woman who is in labour or close to giving birth.
"Keep in mind that a quick delivery may be needed for a first time mother. That's a challenge," Naslund said.
She said the reaction had been "surprisingly large" since the course was announced on Friday afternoon.
It follows the news on January 5 that a baby boy was born on the side of the road in Scotland after his parents car hit a pothole, causing the mother's waters to break, while in England on January 16 a baby girl was born in a police vehicle after her parents' car broke down in snow on the way to the hospital.
"I jumped out of the car, had the hazard lights on, ran round the other side, wheeched the jacket off and got ready to catch."
