CHICAGO — Some babies are born in the hands of doctors in hospital rooms with bright fluorescent lighting.
Others come into this world at home, with the help of a midwife or a doula.
Samantha Centeno Lara had her own plan in mind.
During rush hour traffic Wednesday morning, Samantha’s mother gave birth to her on the No. 9 Ashland Avenue CTA bus.
The bus was parked at Ashland Avenue and Cermak Road in Pilsen, just a mile shy of the University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital, officials said. By the time emergency medical staff arrived, Samantha’s father had already delivered the baby.
The Back of the Yards family was then transported to UIC Hospital, where baby Samantha and her mother, Guadeloupe Lara, spent the day recovering.
Samantha is healthy, hospital staff said, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Her original due date was Feb. 13.
Samantha wasn’t the couple’s first child, hospital spokesperson Jacqueline Michelle Carey said.
“As I understand, they dropped kids at school and were on their way to another hospital,” she said. And “contractions came too strong.”
Samantha becomes Chicago’s latest CTA-born baby. In 2017, twins Ja’miyla Giselle and Ju’niyla Brielle were born at the Roosevelt “L” stop, DNAinfo reported.
