A Melbourne mother forced to give birth on the side of the road after she was trapped in a 25km-long traffic jam caused by an Extinction Rebellion protest is recovering in hospital with her healthy newborn.
Activists from environmental action group parked a truck on the West Gate Bridge about 7.45am on Tuesday and climbed on top, unfurling banners which read “declare a climate emergency” and “climate breakdown has begun”.
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Roshni Lad went into labour on Tuesday morning and was on her way to hospital when the protest occurred.
She and her husband Bhairav became stuck in the traffic, and she was forced to give birth to her second child on the side of the ring road.
“I was looking at the map and checking how long did I need to get (to the hospital),” Bhairav told 7NEWS.
“It was showing me more than one hour to get to the hospital.”
A school bus pulled over and two teachers from St Columba’s College came to their aid, helping deliver the baby boy.
“The father (Bhairav) had the phone to my ear and the ambulance person on the other end was giving the instructions,” teacher Kate Lonsdale said.
Their boy was born healthy, and the family eventually made their way to hospital.
“I’m very grateful and I think god has sent them to help me,” Roshni said of the teachers.
Three lanes on the city-bound side of the bridge had been blocked, and delays stretched back for dozens of kilometres.
Police said the group also lit a flare when on the truck.
In a livestream video posted to the group’s Facebook page, the protesters called for government action on climate change.
Two climate protesters are now in jail as a result of the stunt.
Deanna “Violet” Coco, 33, from NSW and 51-year-old Bradley Homewood from Williamstown pleaded guilty to two counts of public nuisance by obstructing motorists and obstructing police and emergency service workers on Tuesday.
Both were sentenced to 21 days’ imprisonment.
Their co-accused Joseph Zammit, 68, from Melbourne, also pleaded guilty to the same charges.
He was released on bail on the condition that he not attend unlawful protests or undertake any unlawful actions during a protest and not associate with Coco and Homewood.
-With AAP