New Zealand minister cycles to hospital to deliver a baby

When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to a baby girl in an Auckland hospital in June, becoming only the second world leader to do so while in office, she also became an inspiration to many people in her country and around the world.

Now, another minister in her cabinet – Julie Anne Genter – cycled to a hospital on Sunday to deliver a child.

Genter, the minister for women and associate minister for health and transport, posted photographs on social media of her “mostly downhill” trip to the hospital while at full term.

 

Beautiful Sunday morning for a bike ride, to the hospital, for an induction to finally have this baby. This is it, wish us luck! (My partner and I cycled because there wasn’t enough room in the car for the support crew... but it also put me in the best possible mood!) #42weekspregnant #cycling #bicyclesarethebest

A post shared by Julie Anne Genter (@julieannegenter) on Aug 18, 2018 at 3:42pm PDT

According to a New York Times report, Genter was due to have induced labor at Auckland City Hospital.

"Beautiful Sunday morning for a bike ride, to the hospital, for an induction to finally have this baby. This is it, wish us luck! (My partner and I cycled because there wasn’t enough room in the car for the support crew... but it also put me in the best possible mood!)," she shared on Instagram.

Her Instagram post also suggested that she was 42 weeks pregnant. She plans to take three months of parental leave after the birth of the child, her first.

Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, was the first world leader to have a child in January 1990. Her daughter, Bakhtawar, describes herself on Twitter as "1st child born to a sitting female Prime Minister".