Miss Cairns (21) gave birth to her 3kg son, Nixon, at 10am in Frederick St yesterday, after her mad dash by car to the Queen Mary Maternity Unit came up just short.
Yesterday, while still recovering from her ordeal, she told the Otago Daily Times she wanted to thank those who rushed to help.
"My waters broke about 5am; that was fine. I went back to sleep.
"The contractions started about 8am and at 10am we jumped in the car to go to the hospital, but he was born before we made it inside."
She was thankful most passers-by happened to be women, many of whom held up blankets to provide some privacy.
"One woman came and held my head up and told me I was going to be all right. Another woman delivered him."
Final-year medical student Stephanie Lynch (24) said she was the person to catch the baby.
"We heard some shrieking coming from outside and we saw Louise lying on the ground.
"I helped catch him. It wasn’t how I expected to spend my morning."
Miss Lynch said she gained obstetric experience in Dunedin and Tanzania and was happy to help. She later visited the new family in hospital.
Miss Cairns’ partner was also there. However, he felt sick and his legs were wobbling at the sight, she laughed.
"They were all awesome," she said.
"I didn’t care that people could see because I couldn’t stop. I don’t know what I would have done if they weren’t here."
Staff from the maternity unit also arrived on the street shortly after she began pushing. Nurses on the ward were hoping Miss Cairns would name her son "Frederick" after the street he was born on. However, she had ruled out the old-fashioned name and joked that "Speedy" would also not make the cut for his middle name.
Miss Cairns was particularly shocked by the fast delivery because she had been induced to give birth to her eldest son.
The new family wanted to thank "everyone" for helping with the sudden birth and would send them chocolates. Mother and son hoped to go home today.
