We have a special guest blogger here at Moms are Talking About today, my gutsy friend Candice Smith Fleszar, who stunned friends, strangers and half of Michigan by giving birth to her fourth daughter, Ania, on the freeway.

Check out her video of the amazing event, as her husband, Chris, helps deliver the baby while talking to the EMTs on his cellphone. (No, Candice did not intend to become the poster mom for car births. They got caught in rush hour. Was the car wrecked forever? She'll tell you.)

Dos and Don'ts of a Highway Birth
by Candice Smith Fleszar

DON'T deny you are in labor too long. Because my first three labors didn't kick in fully until I got my epidural, I thought this labor would move as slowly. I was having contractions all morning before she was born and for the three days before that, like I always did. There was nothing different from my other, longer labors, except she rushed at the end and she was our smallest, 2.5 lbs smaller than one of her older sisters.

DON'T stop for food. Seems obvious, but they don't feed you at the hospital until the baby is born. If you're going to have a long labor, then you should eat. So, we stopped for burgers, losing us about five minutes.

DON'T ask your laboring wife to call your mother, no matter how much you love her. As I tried to breathe and eat, my dear husband handed me his cell phone saying, “Call my mom, she wanted to know when we left for the hospital.” I told him, “Are you crazy? I am NOT calling your mother now!”

DO embrace a natural birth... whether you want it or not. I did this about three minutes before Ania was born when I said, “I don't think I'm getting my epidural.”

DO pull over on the passing lane side of the road. Assuming you're not driving, this will allow your driver to safely open his door and rummage through the trunk for anything you might be able to use in this unexpected event.

DO take the vehicle with OnStar. Ours was with the babysitter because it had our kids' car seats. It would have been nice to use the service we'd paid for all these years “just in case” and not have to describe our location on a cell phone while trying to get our newborn daughter to breathe.

DO take lots of pictures once help arrives. The fire department took over, including pushing that 80 mph traffic away from my door into one lane on the other side of the road. This allowed my husband to get the first images of our little angel.

And one big...

DON'T expect the detailing place to clean the amniotic fluid out of your car. It is medical waste, and they won't do it. Luckily, my mom, a U.S. Army-National Guard Colonel and former labor-and-delivery nurse, attacked the car with a shop-vac. We still own the car and the smell is gone. Maybe we'll give it to Ania when she turns 16!

Candice Smith Fleszar is a former journalist and corporate public relations specialist turned homeschooling mom in the Grand Rapids, MI area. She has four daughters, ages 2-10, and is a moderator for MomsLikeMe.com

Tell us your tips for highway (or other not-what-we-planned) births!

Leave a comment below, or email me at enoonan@globe.com.