Katie Murphy has revealed that her newborn son earned the nickname “Colonel Cody” after he was born in a KFC car park.
Murphy, 33, and her partner Stephen Kirby, 32, were en route to a hospital in Bromsgrove on August 29 when the baby arrived ahead of schedule. The couple, who are also parents to four-year-old daughter Freya, had already visited the hospital earlier that day after Murphy believed she was in labour, only to be sent home.
After leaving around 4pm, Murphy continued experiencing contractions but delayed returning to the hospital out of fear of being turned away again. By 9pm, the discomfort had intensified to the point where Kirby decided they could wait no longer.
“Finally at around 9pm she was in so much discomfort that we just said ‘let’s go’ and I got her in the car to get to hospital,” Kirby, a fridge engineer, explained.
“The drive is around half-an-hour but around half-way through the journey Katie said she could feel something and knew the baby was coming.”
Murphy, a complaints call handler, felt the urge to push before they could reach their destination. Kirby pulled into the nearest available car park, which happened to be their local KFC.
“When the ambulance dispatcher was trying to locate our location, the only place we could find was the KFC,” Murphy said.
“As my partner pulled into the car park, and as he made his way round to the passenger side and opened the door, he caught my son just in time.”
Kirby delivered baby Cody at 9:35pm while paramedics rushed to the fast food restaurant. Murphy later revealed that she could feel the baby’s head emerging before Kirby had even finished parking the vehicle.
“Thankfully, the ambulances arrived shortly after and the amazing staff took us to the hospital directly with my shell shocked partner following closely behind in the car,” she added.
Cody arrived healthy, weighing 7lbs 8oz, and Murphy confirmed he is “doing great.” The circumstances of his birth inspired the nickname “Colonel Cody,” a reference to KFC founder Colonel Sanders.
“I think that nickname will definitely stick with him for life,” Murphy laughed.
The celebration of Cody’s arrival extended to the hospital itself, where Murphy revealed that the midwifery staff marked the occasion by ordering KFC for dinner. The family has already made plans for Cody’s first birthday celebration at the same fast food chain where he was born.
“It was definitely not the birth I expected, but it was worth every bit of pain, and now he has a very weird story to tell his school friends when he grows up,” Murphy shared.
A KFC spokesperson responded to the story with well wishes for the family.
“We’re honoured to have been the place of Cody’s birth and are sending bucket loads of love to the whole family, along with some KFC merch and vouchers to help them celebrate,” the spokesperson said.
“We can’t wait to welcome them back for a meal to mark the occasion.”
The couple’s unexpected delivery came after a day of uncertainty that began with a false alarm at the hospital and ended with Kirby stepping in as an impromptu delivery assistant in a fast food parking lot.