Babies show up on their own timeline — just ask any mom. While they usually arrive in the sterile calm of a hospital or birthing center as planned, sometimes they shake things up, making a surprise appearance on the drive over or even during an urgent bathroom break. These speedy entrances into the world can feel shocking, but once your little one is safe in your arms, you’re left with quite an exciting birth story to share.
Why might your little one debut so quickly? When labor takes less than three hours after regular contractions start, it's called a precipitous birth. It may feel like you have to poop or like contractions that intensify quickly with little lead-up and no break in between. While a quick labor may sound great, it can come with its own complications. But don’t worry, this is pretty rare, only happening to around 3% of moms.[1]
A sudden and unplanned delivery can feel scary, says Patricia A. Evans, a nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. But rest assured, even when babies burst onto the scene unexpectedly, emergency medical responders know what to do. These are five incredible stories of mamas who gave birth in the most unexpected places.
"I was DJing a wedding"
"Last year, when I was very pregnant — but still a few weeks out from my due date — I decided to go help my husband, a wedding DJ, at work. What I didn't know: My frequent Braxton Hicks contractions were actually the real deal that day.
I didn't really think much of it, as my Braxton Hicks had been really intense the last couple of months. But after I had gotten there, I stepped into the bathroom and realized the baby was coming. All I could think was, 'Oh crap' as a random bridesmaid came in and asked if I was doing okay.
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It was all happening pretty quickly, and I definitely did not want to be the center of attention and take away from the bride's big day, so I kept it low-key. I stayed in the venue bathroom while I let my husband Billy know what was going on.
Thankfully, this was all during dinner when the wedding guests were busy eating. Billy called his business partner over to the venue to cover the evening’s festivities and brought the car around to the front. He and another guy basically carried me out to the car, and I knew the baby was coming any second. As soon as I laid down in the back, our daughter Gwynn came out.
It was hard to keep it under wraps at that point, but hey, I guess it's a great story for the couple to tell! We drove over to the hospital to get checked out, and both me and Gwynn were a-okay. While Billy didn’t get to DJ the reception, he did make up a great Spotify playlist for the day.
Gwynn is now 1, and she’s definitely got DJing in her blood. She loves creating her own dance mixes on Dad’s equipment!"
— Abbey Heany, Seattle, Washington
"I was leaning on my car in the hospital parking lot"
"I took my dog for a walk with my niece, and I felt some pain, but I didn't think it was contractions — just that I overdid it moving so much that day. I started feeling contractions and timing them. It was crazy because someone texted me right at 8 p.m. to ask about my baby and if he was head down and if I had any Braxton Hicks. Well, I never experienced Braxton Hicks before, so I wasn't sure if this was that or real labor. So then I cleaned the whole downstairs of my home and ate a bowl of granola. I started timing the contractions, but I didn't know what I was doing. They started getting stronger and more uncomfortable. I showered and washed my hair … They weren't going away but getting worse. Then my water broke around 10 p.m., and I had a little bloody show.
I called my mom to come at 10:04 p.m. to watch the kids. She got there fast. Then we left for the hospital. I was screaming the whole car ride there — it was a 17-minute drive. I called my doctor at 10:20 p.m. to tell him I'm on my way to the hospital, but he didn't pick up. I was going insane screaming at my hubby to drive faster and cursing and telling him to shut up and not talk. We got a lot of red lights. We pull up to the hospital, and I tell him the baby is coming NOW. He runs inside to get help. I feel the baby crown. I jumped out the passenger side, and my arms are on my chair and I'm bent over.
I didn't make it inside. I gave birth in the parking lot at 10:41 p.m. His head was already out before my husband could come back and put his hands under me. Then the whole maternity ward ran down and put on gloves and pulled down my underwear and got him. I'm still in shock, but [I] didn't need any pain meds at all — not even ibuprofen — and the baby is doing amazing."
— What to Expect Community member Anonymous0615
"I was half-naked on the side of the highway"
"We only got halfway up the [highway] ramp when I told my husband he needed to pull over. It was like 7:30 a.m., cold and raining. He was confused but pulled over to the shoulder of the ramp. I had no plan, but I jumped out of the car and immediately dropped my pants. I dialed 911 but quickly realized I wasn't able to hold a conversation, so I threw the phone at my husband. He talked to the dispatcher and told them we needed an ambulance. I remember thinking the dispatch person was asking the dumbest questions, but then I heard him say, "Can you see any part of the baby?"
I panicked because I never even thought to check. I was standing on the side of the road, fully naked from the waist down, so I put my hand between my legs and her head was out! I remember screaming. I'm not sure what I said but probably something along the lines of, "HER HEAD IS OUT," and while I screamed, my body naturally started squatting. From the force from my scream, the gravity from standing, and the little squat position I was in, my baby was born. I never even pushed. I'm so thankful my hand was already there, so I caught her. My husband rushed over to make sure she didn't slip out of my hands. I started wiping her face and rubbing her back, and she let out a huge cry. A minute later, I delivered the placenta. I was still standing, so it plopped right down on the ground. My husband picked it up and wrapped it in a blanket and set it next to me so the cord wouldn't pull. We had nothing to tie it, and the ambulance still hadn't arrived.
A few minutes later, the state police showed up. At this point, I'm sitting on the side of my car, still in the rain and clutching my baby to my chest. The state police had NO idea what to do. They were all standing back just kind of looking at me until the ambulance finally arrived. The EMT looked at the police and said, "Um, hello, can we get some blankets in there for her? Or how about you just move so we can get a stretcher to her instead? I know one of you has to have an OB kit. We need to clamp this cord." She was my saving grace. She tied and clipped the cord and asked the police if they had a bag to put my placenta in so we could take it with us. The cop said, "How big of a bag do you need?" And the EMT replied, "Big enough to put a placenta in — can you please just get me something? An evidence bag would even work." She was not having it."
— What to Expect Community member TMW103122
"I was at home on the toilet"
"I was still feeling fine and definitely in denial that this was not another false alarm. I went to the living room, telling my mother-in-law that it might be baby time and that once my hubby was home, we would head to the birth center. I went back into my room and was about to call the midwife when I was suddenly overcome by pretty intense contractions, so my mother-in-law came in and asked if I was okay. I told her yes, but also asked if she could call the midwife to let her know we were coming in. Then I had this sudden urge to poop, so I went to the toilet (still thinking there was enough time for hubby to come home and get to the center).
The urge to go disappeared for a second, and I was overcome by nausea. As I was bending over the toilet to puke, I felt a gush in my postpartum undies, which I put on earlier just in case. I still don't know if that was my water breaking or me peeing from the pressure … I felt that same urge of pooping again and sat on the toilet. At that moment, I realized that the baby was coming! I told my mother-in-law to call 911 and let her know that it was baby time. I was overcome by one more contraction, and the baby was crowning. With the next contraction, the baby's head was out. One more, and I pulled my baby up on my chest — all in the comfort of my own home on the toilet."
— What to Expect Community member JuliaBabyDust
"I had my baby in the hallway with a bunch of cops"
“I was home alone in the late afternoon with my 5-year-old son and 15-month-old daughter. All of a sudden, I felt a fall-to-your-knees-painful contraction, so I called my husband to let him know that it was go time. I then called my mother-in-law so she could come watch our older kids.
I locked myself in my downstairs bathroom because I was so sick and in so much pain. Meanwhile, my kids were just roaming around the house alone! I was waiting for my husband and mother-in-law to get there, and I realized that there were barely any breaks in between my contractions. I just knew there was no way I was making it to the hospital, so I called 911.
The very first person who showed up was a solo 27-year-old police officer. My son opened the door for him, and he was greeted by a pantless broad (me)! The dispatcher didn't tell him what the call was for, so he walked in and asked what I needed help with. I said, 'I’m about to have a baby!' He looked at me like a deer in headlights and went, 'Okay, let me go out to my car and get some gloves.'
Eventually, my husband and mother-in-law arrived and saw a house full of paramedics and police officers. I wasn't able to inform them what was going on because I was on the 911 call for a while. It was a big shock to them to walk into that madness!
I was about to start pushing, and a police officer looked at my husband and asked, 'Can you grab some towels?' My husband responded, 'Uhhhh, I don't know where any are!' Remember, we were at our own house! He eventually found some towels, and they laid them down for me. I was on my back seeing stars, I was in so much pain! I asked if I could stand up, and the one police officer just went, 'Uh, do whatever you need to do.'
I never pooped while having my first two kids, but of course the time I am in broad daylight amongst a bunch of male police officers, my butt turned into a Frosty machine and I pooped all over an officer’s boots.
I stood up, and that baby came flying out of me just like the baby giraffes do! The police officer behind me was the one who caught him like a little football. My son, Ace, had perfect coloring and a great set of lungs.
The baby and I were taken out in a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. Since this happened in the afternoon during the COVID-19 pandemic, my entire neighborhood was working from home and noticed the 12 emergency vehicles parked on the street. They all came out on the sidewalk once they realized I was having a baby inside my house. I’ll never forget the paramedics carrying me down my front stairs in a stretcher and seeing a bunch of neighbors I hadn’t met yet drinking beers and cheering me on the way out!
From the first contraction to the baby coming out, less than 35 minutes went by. There isn't a hospital in my town, so my son is one of only a handful of people born in Medford, New Jersey!
Everyone asks if I saved a lot of money not needing doctors or a hospital, but nope. My insurance charged me for two ambulance rides: for me and for my baby.
A month later, we went to meet the cop who delivered him. I still get pizzas delivered to the police station on Ace’s birthday as a thank you!
— Reagan Russo, Medford, New Jersey
What to do if you give birth unexpectedly
If you find yourself giving birth in an unusual situation, the most important thing to do is to stay calm. "Your body knows what to do, so trust it and let it," says Evans, the nurse practitioner. Here's what else you should do if you give birth in an emergency:
- Call 911. The operator will talk you through the process until help arrives.
- Make sure the area is as safe and clean as possible; find a dry, flat surface where you can get in a semi-sitting position.
- Breathe using the "he breathing" method. Take a big breath in, and slowly release by saying, "He, he, he." Blow out and repeat — this helps you stay focused.
- If possible, have someone find clean towels or blankets, water and hand sanitizer. Place the towels and/or blankets under you. If a plastic bag is handy, open it and place the opening under the buttocks to catch fluid and blood.
- Let the delivery happen naturally, supporting the head and the body as the baby emerges. Do not pull on the head or body. Push to help move the baby out.
- If the cord is wrapped around the neck, try to slip it over the head or body.
- Place the baby on your bare chest to keep him warm.
- Wipe your baby's nose and face, and gently rub his back and feet to stimulate crying and breathing. (Do NOT hit or slap the baby in any way.)
- Don't cut the cord or pull on it. Let the placenta deliver naturally, which will usually take anywhere from five to 30 minutes but sometimes longer. When the placenta does come out, wrap it in a towel or place it in a plastic bag if medical help has not arrived yet.
- Keep yourself and your baby as warm and as comfortable as possible until help arrives. Take a deep breath, relax and congratulate all involved (especially yourself!) for what you've just accomplished.
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