Alwyn Collier and her husband Andrew Ostlund holding their newborn son. Photo: Facebook
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Collier said she gave birth in the bath
An MP in New Zealand’s parliament was treated for shock and mild dehydration after she cycled to the hospital for the birth of her baby.
Alwyn Collier, from the Labour Party, delivered her son with her husband Andrew Ostlund at their home in West Auckland.
She had not even got home before falling sick with shivers and dizziness.
Ms Collier confirmed the birth by posting a photo on Facebook with the hashtag “Whoops”.
But she said she was “over the moon” with the outcome and a health update from the hospital showed she is in good shape.
Ms Collier posted a photo of her husband’s hospital ID bracelet to show it was for an emergency birth
It seems her cycling had to be called off in the middle of a meeting with a police commissioner, she wrote.
“I managed to pick him up when I was doing the compulsory kickboxing refresher class and then ran into my home to see a friend and her husband were heading out of the front door,” she said.
“She said ‘no problem,’ called 999 and I gave birth on the way to the hospital.
“Luckily my husband was in hospital.
“Needless to say we felt sick and have to be given Tylenol and fluids for the rest of the night,” she said.
Her post on Facebook has more than 45,000 likes and more than 1,700 comments.
Shaun Robinson, who has been one of Ms Collier’s parliamentary aides since September, told the BBC that “many MPs in the parliament were sick over the weekend”.
He said Ms Collier became ill just before starting her advocacy trip to rural Australia and left to see her GP before deciding to do the cycling.
“Alwyn delivered the baby at home and was extremely calm.
“She was getting the birthing contractions and was really scared. But she came out smiling, her nerves were a bit frayed but she did fantastic in the end.”
Follow the progress of her story using the hashtag #BornAndRide.