Born in lockdown

Young Wilf Howells has never known a life outside lockdown. His family share the story of his surprise arrival in a supermarket car park

- Duncan Hall

When Hannah Howells woke up on a Sunday morning after an uncomfortable night she and husband Andy didn’t think too much of it. She was two weeks away from her due date, so the Hamble-based pair put it down to false labor pains.

“Then suddenly the pains got worse and closer together,” says Andy, 37, over the phone while on paternity leave from his day job as assistant director for external affairs with Universities UK International. “We thought this had come on quite suddenly, but this is the real thing.” The pair packed their bags and called Hannah’s parents to look after their three-year-old son Theo.

Andy admits that the lead-up to the big day had been stressful. “We self-isolated to a degree, but we were still seeing my wife’s parents as we didn’t know whether I would be able to go to the birth,” he says. “Having a baby anyway can cause a lot of anxiety and worry – but to do it at this moment in time...”

Prior to getting into the car to go to the Broadlands Birth Centre at Southampton’s Princess Anne Hospital, Hannah, 33, who is a teacher at Ludlow Junior School, had been on the floor trying to deal with her contractions. They got worse as the couple traveled to the hospital. “It became apparent we weren’t going to make it,” says Andy. “I was making frantic calls to the labor line on the speakerphone, while Hannah was getting very uncomfortable, grabbing me and putting her hand in my face!”

It looked like salvation might be at hand as an ambulance drew near, but despite Andy putting on his hazard lights and waving frantically, they didn’t stop. “They just waved back,” laughs Andy.