Shelbee Dugger-Kemp Delivers 2 Twins in Car After Intoxication

Shelbee Dugger-Kemp thought she had intoxication after eating nachos. She was 31 weeks and 2 days pregnant with twins when stomach pain turned into labor on the way to the hospital.

She asked Mimi, the grandmother of her husband, to drive her while Michael stayed with their four older children, ages 9, 8, 8 and 4. Dugger-Kemp said, “Je n’y ai vraiment pas prêté attention.”

From food pain to labor

The family was camping over the Memorial Day weekend in the United States, and she expected a quick exam before going home. After driving a little less than ten kilometers, she realized she was having contractions, and an ambulance would have taken 20 minutes to arrive.

She told Mimi, “Mimi, ne panique pas, mais je vais accoucher dans la voiture.” Mimi answered, “Oh non, Shelbee !” Dugger-Kemp replied, “Si, Mimi, ça va arriver.”

Kane and Kallan

She delivered both boys on the front seat of the car. The twins were named Kane and Kallan, and Kallan was born “coiffé” and was still in his amniotic sac.

Today said that being born “coiffé” happens less than once in 80,000 vaginal births. Kane weighed 1.99 kilograms at birth, and Kallan weighed 1.43 kilograms. The boys were born eight weeks before the due date.

Michael reaches the parking lot

Michael was told about the birth of his sons and drove to find Dugger-Kemp at a parking lot where an ambulance met them. She said, “Il pleurait à chaudes larmes. Il s'excusait de ne pas avoir été là.”

Doctors had said throughout the pregnancy that the twins were healthy, and a cesarean section had already been scheduled for July. Neither baby needed oxygen, but both remained hospitalized in neonatal care to gain weight and mature enough to regulate their body temperature.

For families facing an early delivery, the practical issue is immediate: the babies are still in neonatal care, and the next step is weight gain and temperature regulation before discharge.