"I genuinely wasn’t planning to cycle in labor, but it did end up happening," she wrote.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 29, 2021. It has since been updated.
Julie Anne Genter, a New Zealand politician, is a well-known and outspoken cycling advocate. Genter, who was pregnant with her second child, cycled to the hospital, reports BBC. "Big news!" the Greens politician posted on her Facebook page a few hours later. "At 3.04 am this morning we welcomed the newest member of our family. I genuinely wasn’t planning to cycle in labor, but it did end up happening," she wrote. "My contractions weren’t that bad when we left at 2 am 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. 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," she concluded.
Genter, a dual New Zealand-U.S. citizen who was born in Minnesota and moved to the Pacific country in 2006. The politician, who is also 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 firstborn, reports Reuters.
"Beautiful Sunday morning for a bike ride, to the hospital, for an induction to finally have this baby. This is it, wish us luck! (My partner and I cycled because there wasn’t enough room in the car for the support crew... but it also put me in the best possible mood!) #42weekspregnant #cycling #bicyclesarethebest," she shared, on Instagram.
She later posted a picture of her and her husband with their newborn baby and captioned the image: "We’re overjoyed to announce the safe arrival of our son at 18.03 this evening, weighing almost 4.3kg. We waited a very long time for labor to start, but when it did it was short and sharp. We are so grateful for the lovely staff at Auckland Hospital who provided wonderful care, for the incredibly experienced independent midwife who supported us the whole way, and for our amazing friends and family. All of you have been so generous."
According to ABC News, Genter and her partner previously had two "very sad" miscarriages that she has spoken about in New Zealand media interviews.
Given how her Facebook profile includes "I love my bicycle", it's only right she cycled to the hospital both times to have her babies, right?
References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59450168
https://www.facebook.com/JulieAnneGenter
Cover Image Source: Facebook | Julie Anne Genter MP
