To ask if you have given birth unexpectedly at home by yourself

[Mopmum35]

As the title says, have any of you experienced giving birth at home quickly without much warning? just being noisy 🙈

Yeah, hospital sent me home as I was only 1-2cm and had "ages to go". DD born on bathroom floor not long after we got back, had to wait over half hour for paramedics and midwifes to arrive.

Aw lovely thread but I imagine in a real life scenario, it can be terrifying, especially if you are alone when it happens 😱

That was one of the reasons my friend was screaming as she was in a total panic.

Anyone see that poor woman on Ambulance last series who'd been to a Harry Potter convention in Manchester, returned to the hotel and gave birth to a baby girl she didn't know she was carrying? I shed a tear.

Best part was her mates response of 'Bloody hell she's ginger'. Hilarious. Can't believe they didn't call her Ginny though!
Hope she's doing well.

"Stop screaming" Let them pull a cabbage patch doll through their nostrils and see how quiet they would be! These stories are amazing

Wow @YDraig that's amazing. Do you see your neighbour much now? Were things awkward at all 😂

My mother had my sibling all alone at home. It was almost 70 years ago and she was told she wouldn't be allowed a hospital birth. She waited as long as she could and then told my dad to 'call the midwife'.

Off he went on his bike to the phone box and my mum's first baby was born while he was gone. My mum's first baby. She said she looked at the baby was was scared of its big eyes looking around. haha. She was only 20.

I was born at home but there was a midwife there. My dad paced in the garden smoking a cigarette. Dad's were kept out of the bedroom back then - their job was done.

I very nearly did, my husband came home just in time.
The 999 dispatcher gave him instructions (he was terrified)
I just had the urge to push the contrations were really fast but my waters had not broken, So Dd's head was halfway out! There was an almighty 'splash' He later confessed the thought her head had exploded!
We were taken to hospital and discharged quite quickly (dd was quite small)

Yes 3 weeks ago! Second baby, planned homebirth but when it came to it there were no midwifes to send out to us and told us to phone an ambulance.
20 minutes later DH had delivered baby with assistance from the 999 handler just as the paramedics wondered (literally wondered) in!!
Would have put me off having another if we wanted one for sure. I know people say your so lucky having quick labour but actually it can be quite scary and intense.
Luckily it all worked out ok ☺️

It happened to my friend, but I caught the baby so she wasn't really alone I suppose.

The midwife got lost en route and the ambulance just didn't make it in time.

Everything was fine, my friend was amazing.

but actually it can be quite scary and intense.

One of my labours was 5 hours and I found that too fast and intense.
Let alone anything quicker. I had no breaks between contractions (ok 30 seconds but I don't feel like that counts) so I had no time to recover.

Give me a nice 10 hour labour like ds1 any day. I got time to recover in between at least.

Although on paper the 5 hour labour was down as an hour.

My friend did. She was 40+5 and had been having pains all day. She went to hospital and they sent her home told her to calm down have a bath and tea and toast.

She went home run the bath and before the bath was full she had given birth on the bathroom floor. Her husband had nipped to the shop for bread and milk.

The paramedics came and told her they were both fine but had to stay 2 hours with her after the birth so they helped put all the baby's cot up and sat and drank tea with them.

I had planned a home birth anyway but it all happened rather faster than anticipated.
My first labour ended up being over 2 and a half days so when I started getting contractions I wasn’t overly excited. They niggled on and off all night and at about 7 in the morning they were getting a little bit uncomfortable but not any more than period pains. My husband called the midwives just to give them a heads up and they turned out to be just down the road at another birth so popped up to see how I was doing. Gave me a quick exam and said I was hardly dilated and would be good few hours yet.
They headed off and were just going out the door when I had a huge contraction, my waters broke and the baby was crowning. I screamed, they sprinted back up the stairs and the midwife literally slid across the lino and caught him before he hit the floor. There was some meconium but we didn’t need to go to hospital.
The best thing was that the baby monitor was switched on and as he let out his first cry I could hear DS1 saying ’that’s my baby!’. 🥰

Almost... the hospital kept telling me to stay home as my contractions weren’t close enough together, even though they were very painful and lasting 90 seconds, and I was getting a lot of pressure down below. The last phone call (and order to stay home) was at 2:45pm. At 2:50pm I thought screw it and went up to hospital anyway.

My waters broke in the car, and we arrived at hospital 3:10pm. When the midwife checked, I was fully dilated and DD was born at 3:25pm

@NoDontLookAtMeImShy I agree. With my second I went from 1cm to fully dilated in 54 minutes and it was hands down the most excruciating thing I've ever experienced.

No but I know a woman who went into labour at home and her childminder (for her older child) delivered the baby in the bathroom. She was an ex nurse. No idea why she was there or any other details though.

If I had listened to the midwifes on the phone when I was in labour with my second, my poor dp would have probably had to deliver ds in the living room.

Midwives are too text book. All 4 of my kids I went from 4 cm to baby born in 20 minutes. Every time and baby number 4 they still said you have ages to go. Had to waddle round to the nurses station and request to go to L and D because I needed to push. Are you sure? They said.

I had planned for a homebirth but not one without a MW present. My contractions started at 10 minutes apart but within the hour were at at 2 minutes and then I just needed to push.
Thankfully DH was there and caught DD as she came out at full speed and the MW arrived about 5 minutes after DD did!

Just nosy or just a journalist?
You have to pay for journo access to members' opinions/experiences you know.

About 4 30 as my oldest started reception and comes home starving and tired but used to be 4 30 5ish befour

@OneForTheRoadThen

I don’t live there anymore but my ex does, whenever I used to drop DD off neighbour used to either make a quick exit or go really wide eyed when he saw me! we’ve chatted a few times but he always looks a bit scared/awkward. I almost feel like going “Don’t worry, you won’t deliver the next one” no next ones planned, but it might break the ice so to speak

@YDraig 😂 bless him. I wondered if he might make some comment if 'didn't recognise you with your clothes on' or something 😂

Apart from the what ifs and the intense scary fear side of things I'm bloody jealous of a lot of the ladies who have these kind of stories with my DD I went into labour on Tue and ended up with an EMCS on the Fri and I was still only 5cm. My friends joke that if I have another I'll have time for a mini break inbetween labour starting and baby coming.

@DoSomethingBob what your son said has just made me well up!!