Team News Riveting
Member of Parliament in New Zealand Julie Anne Genter got on her bicycle early on Sunday and headed to the hospital while in labour and she gave birth an hour later.
The Green Party MP shared the impressive birth story on social media, with photos showing her taking the 10-minute bike ride to hospital, arriving at the car park and then with her new daughter, born today at 3:04 am.
Genter shared the happy news with her followers, admitting she wasn’t planning to cycle while in labour but “it did end up happening”.
“My contractions weren’t that bad when we left at 2am to go to the hospital – though they were 2-3 min apart and picking up in intensity by the time we arrived 10 minutes later. (I’m smiling in the car park right after one.) And amazingly now we have a healthy, happy little one sleeping, as is her dad,” the Green Party MP wrote.
“Feeling blessed to have had excellent care and support from a great team, in what turned out to be a very fast (and happily uncomplicated) birth,” the new mum added.
The island nation of 5 million has a reputation for down-to-earth politicians. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern famously took maternity leave while in office and brought her three-month old to a UN meeting as she was still breastfeeding.
Genter – her party’s spokesperson for transport issues and whose Facebook profile includes “I love my bicycle” – also biked to the hospital in 2018 to give birth to her first-born.
