A Southern California couple has quite the birth story to tell after their daughter made a surprise arrival in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box, where firefighters helped deliver the baby after a frantic race to the hospital.
Michelle Cisneros and Darren Campbell welcomed baby Valentina Isla Campbell last Friday after pulling into the Orange County fast-food restaurant and calling 911 when they realized they couldn't make it back to the delivery room in time.
The family says the healthy baby girl arrived 15 days before her due date, adding to their surprise.
"I thought maybe they might be Braxton Hicks," Cisneros told Fox News Digital. "But at that point my contractions were five minutes apart and they were getting more intense, so I thought I'll just go to labor and delivery just to be safe."
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But amid the joy, the parents are also left wondering whether the roadside birth could have been avoided after Cisneros says she was evaluated and discharged from a nearby hospital twice before delivering baby Valentina.
Cisneros said she was monitored for about an hour at Hoag Hospital before being discharged after staff determined her cervix had not changed. She said nurses instructed her to return if her contractions became three minutes apart.
"The nurse actually told us that if my contractions were three minutes apart to return to the hospital," Cisneros said. "We made it downstairs and we were timing them, and they were three minutes apart."
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The couple returned to the hospital, where Michelle said she was monitored for another hour before being discharged again.
"They did end up giving me morphine because I was in a lot of pain and I could barely speak," she said. "The nurse said to continue laboring at home and then come back, that I would most likely deliver that night."
Darren Campbell said he tried to convince hospital staff not to send his wife home.
"I said, 'Look, we're not leaving. Contractions are three minutes apart,'" he recalled. "It was very dismissive of, 'You guys are okay. You guys don't have to be here. Go home and we'll see you later.'"
Campbell said he initially believed they still had enough time to make it back to the hospital before their daughter made her grand debut.
About two miles from home, they pulled into a nearby Jack in the Box parking lot and called 911 as firefighters rushed to help deliver little Valentina.
"Michelle said, 'If you can keep going, we can make it,'" he recalled. "Then the words I'll never forget—she said, 'She's coming.' That's when I told 911 I was pulling into the Jack in the Box, and that's where I knew we were in trouble."
Campbell said the arrival of firefighters brought an immediate sense of relief.
"When I heard her cry, it was just sheer relief," he said. "My worst fears were extinguished."
"The moment that I heard her cry, I instantly felt relief," Cisneros said.
Looking back, Cisneros said she hopes other expectant mothers trust their instincts.
"Women should know that they can advocate for themselves and they know their body best," she said. "I think it's really important for medical professionals to listen to their patients more."
Campbell echoed his wife's message.
"No one knows your body better than yourself," he said. "If you've got that gut feeling, you just need to say, 'No, I know what I'm feeling.'"
The family spent several days recovering before returning home with their newest addition.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hoag Hospital for comment.
Jack in the Box also did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment after they reportedly offered the family a care package.
