As a winter storm pounded Northern California, this Sacramento mother gave birth on I-80
Sacramento mother Elena Winks had every intention to welcome her second child in a hospital.
Her first birthing experience with son Charlie made her expect watching movies and munching on food while awaiting her beautiful baby girl.
“I don’t have anything to prove, like let’s make it as comfortable as possible,” Winks recalled in an interview.
Life had other plans.
Winks gave birth early last month on the shoulder of eastbound Interstate 80 as a powerful storm pounded Northern California. The Sacramento area received almost an inch, while feet of snow fell in the mountains that weekend.
“It really was a very special thing,” said her husband, Jack Winks. But he added: “It was traumatic.”
‘Coming on pretty quickly’
It was a mostly sleepless March 1 night for the couple as Elena’s contractions escalated in intensity.
The couple paid a visit to Kaiser Roseville the following morning. Signs appeared that she could be close to giving birth, Elena said.
“I just got the feeling that it was coming on pretty quickly,” Elena said.
Doctors determined Elena was close to labor but not in “active labor.” She was 4 centimeters dilated about 8 a.m. March 2, she said.
The couple returned home. Jack, the general manager of West Sacramento’s French-inspired wine bar and cafe Franquette, went to work.
Elena, the chef at Franquette, slept.
By 1 p.m., Elena said her contractions escalated. She didn’t want to be sent home again by doctors. And it was difficult to determine if birth was imminent because she opted for an epidural her first child’s arrival.
She waited. As labor pains became almost constant and painful, the couple left for the hospital.
They came back as a family of four.
‘I was really shaken’
The couple was in Citrus Heights, eight minutes away from the Roseville hospital, when Elena begged her husband to pull over.
A contraction felt different, Elena recalled, and she could feel the baby coming.
She jumped out of the car in pouring rain. Instinct kicked in.
Jack, talking on the phone with 911 dispatchers, threw his phone on the ground as Elena pushed.
Her body took over, guiding her to be in a certain position. She remembers screaming.
“I never thought I would hear that sound come out of me,” Elena said.
At least two pushes later, it was done.
The baby made her grand arrival into Jack’s arms.
“It was very scary,” he said, later noting it was also a beautiful moment. “Elena was ... in a bit of a daze from pain and from childbirth.”
The stress wasn’t over.
Cold and blue, the baby didn’t immediately cry. Elena lie bleeding on the frigid ground as cars rushed by on the freeway.
“I was really shaken,” he said. “Super high on adrenaline at that point.”
That’s when about a dozen California Highway Patrol cars arrived, and Officer Katie Price wrapped the baby in her arms.
Jack cut the cord. And the baby was whisked away to the hospital.
‘We really both gave birth’
A lot can happen in six minutes.
For Elena, it felt like 60 seconds. For Jack it might have felt much, much longer.
But six minutes is how long the ambulance, sirens blazing, sped to Roseville to ensure the mother and newborn received appropriate medical care.
Six nurses awaited Elena, completely drenched and no shoes, to wheel her through the front entrance.
They put the baby on a warmer.
And, soon enough, doctors and nurses declared everyone healthy.
There were some unusual facts: Jack had to declare the time of birth. The birth certificate also lists him as both the deliverant and father.
Mabel Winks, born 4:40 p.m. March 2, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Her birth certificate denotes her place of birth as Interstate 80 east in Citrus Heights.
Reflecting on the experience, the couple said it brought them closer.
“It’s a really special thing that we were the first and only two people there when our daughter was born,” Jack said. “I don’t think many people in the world can really say that these days.”
Their first birthing experience felt like a medical procedure, unlike Mabel’s arrival, Elena said.
The mother of two recalled feeling lonely during her son Charlie’s birth because she and her husband didn’t get to touch each other, though Jack was as present and helpful as possible. Her body went through a life-changing procedure while nothing changed for Jack.
Mabel’s birth was different. The parents are complete equals, Elena said.
“We really both gave birth to her,” she said. “And, we both went through something super emotional and physically stressful.”
Jack added: “I was the first person to touch my daughter and to hold her.
“No fathers get that privilege, really.”
Mabel’s birth will be a story the parents recount as she grows up.
“... When she’s older, we can tell her … It was just us there — just the three of us,” the dad said.
“Which is so, so incredible.”
