Mijas baby born on street during Storm Marta in Malaga

Ciro Fabián has had a remarkable story to tell from the very moment he was born.

He arrived on 7 February in the middle of a fierce storm in Malaga province, shielded from the rain by the umbrellas and sunshades of neighbours who witnessed his mother, Sasharel, give birth on a street in Mijas.

Parents Sasharel (28) and Andrew Fabián (26) are originally from Uruguay. Sasharel moved to Spain two and a half years ago in search of a better future, and Andrew followed a year later. Shortly after, they discovered they were expecting Ciro Fabián, their first child together.

Sasharel’s due date was 2 February, but she showed no signs of imminent labour. On the morning of 7 February, at 40 weeks and five days, the first contractions began. "I woke up at 7.30am feeling fine. I thought I wasn't going to have the baby that day either, so I went back to sleep," Sasharel recalled. By 8.50am, the contractions intensified.

Having given birth three times before, Sasharel felt familiar with the process. She decided to monitor her contractions at home, fearing she might be sent back from the hospital if she arrived too early. They arranged for her father to collect them at 12.30pm. In the meantime, she tidied the house and showered. At 12.37pm, Andrew took a photo of her as they headed down the stairs to leave.

However, as they stepped onto the pavement, her waters broke. "I called my dad, but I felt there was no time. I told my partner, 'I think he's going to be born here,'" Sasharel said. Neighbours tried to help her to a nearby bar, El Tejo, but she couldn't move.

As Storm Marta lashed the coast with heavy rain and wind, Andrew took off his jacket and shirt to cover her and prepared to deliver the baby. The community immediately rallied; neighbours brought blankets, the bar staff provided a large terrace sunshade, and two Guardia Civil officers held umbrellas to create a dry space.

Luna, the daughter of the owner of El Tejo, ran to help after a waiter told her a woman was screaming in the street. "I heard her say, 'Something is coming out of me,' and I saw the head," Luna said. "It was raining so hard, but the parents reacted brilliantly. The father held on to the baby the whole time."

Ciro Fabián was born at 12.45pm - exactly eight minutes after Sasharel’s waters broke. "I pushed three times and the baby fell into my partner’s arms," she said. Andrew, who had previously joked that he would faint if he had to cut the umbilical cord in a hospital, found himself acting as a midwife alongside Sasharel’s father.

Mother and baby were taken to the hospital and confirmed to be in perfect health. Ciro Fabián weighed 3.94kg and measured 53cm. Fittingly, by the time they returned home, the storm had passed and the sun was shining.