A childbirth is never ordinary. The birth of a baby can take surprising, comical or suspenseful detours. Here are some stories…
There is no such birth
The mom-to-be is in the wrong place at the wrong time. An unpredictable event plays on the intensity of the birth event. Baby's gender is "misidentified"… A woman literally expels her baby faster than expected. Here are these stories, all true. Some of them were submitted by Internet users of Mamanpourlavie.com while others were told by the president of the Regroupement Les sages-femmes du Québec, Claudia Faille.
Bonfire…
We are in the mid-90s, in a birth center in Quebec. At that time, it was allowed to light candles in the rooms. That day, in the cozy atmosphere of the dim lighting, a new mother gave birth to her baby, while the birth attendant took photos to immortalize the event, says Claudia Faille.
The explosion of joy that followed the birth really heated the room… and so did the fire. The flames startedto devour the smock of the native helper who had undoubtedly touched a candle too closely! Fortunately, there was a large bath in the room, since this birth was planned to take place in water (the plan changed along the way).
The course of the fire was therefore stopped before it caused injury or damage. You will understand why it was later forbidden to place candles in the rooms of birthing centers!
Wrong section
The following story also comes from Claudia Faille.
Most birthing centres have a consultation room and a delivery room.
A mother-to-be, in that winter of 1998, knew that the time had come to go there, since labor had begun. So she called her midwife and immediately went to the birthing center. Once there, she headed towards… the consultation room, convinced that it was the delivery room. Seeing no one to greet her, she waited a bit, then went to the employee bathroom, from where she called her midwife on her cell phone.
Meanwhile, the two midwives who were to assist the mother-to-be were waiting for her at the exit of the elevator, believing that she would be out any minute, since the waiting room delivery was on the second floor. Not seeing her arrive, they went looking for her without finding her, until the midwife received the call fromthe woman who was now about to give birth…
The two midwives ran to the bathroom to find… an exhausted – but he althy – mother and a newborn baby, just as he althy…!
Bad Sex
It was in 2006 or 2007. The couple at the heart of this story already had three boys and according to what the ultrasound revealed, the mother was expecting a fourth, says Claudia Faille. The birth went well. All swaddled, baby was curled up against his mother, when his three brothers burst into the room to meet him. They delicately lifted the cover, to confirm that the male trio was going to become a quartet. Meanwhile, the midwife – it was Claudia Faille – was filling out the birth forms for the baby boy. Shortly after, the birth attendant visited the mother to offer her a snack. When he put the baby back in his cradle, what was his surprise to find that it was… a girl! Here is the confirmation that the results of the ultrasound are not infallible…
Childhood while singing
Wennita is an alto singer and she remained so until the heart of one of the most overwhelming moments in a woman's life: childbirth. She gave birth to Ayla at home in 2010. The Stabat Mater, a religious Latin poem that several composers have set to music, was performed. Wennita was listening to the version ofRossini.
She did more than listen: she sung, all the parts, whether for alto voices or not, and the music became accompaniment! The text evokes a painful mother standing in front of her son on the cross… “Let’s say that the pain part applied to my case and made me feel good to hear! “, she says in an email.
Nevertheless, the mother of four says that this childbirth while singing was the least painful for her. She clung to the music to think a little less about the pain and by singing, she mastered her breath. We bet that this child born into the intoxicating world of music will have forged a very special bond with her…
Hypnotized Childhood…
The birth of Hélène's three children was very zen thanks to hypnosis. She was not heartbroken, she says in an email sent to Mamanpourlavie.com, in response to a call made on our Facebook page. She did not benefit from the epidural to numb the pain and she felt great after these intense moments which are exhausting for most new moms! In fact, she was walking through her room minutes after her three little angels arrived, much to her mother's surprise. Madame even felt ready to go in the shower…!
The birth of her third child, in the summer of 2008, was a little more difficult; little Olivier had indeed decided to present his neck rather thanher pretty face. This particular situation generally requires the use of an epidural since the risk of tearing is high.
The mother of Alexandre, Mathieu and Olivier was lucky: she managed to give birth to all three of them without the sting of relief… Ah, sweet hypnosis, when you hold us…
Baby comes out on her own
It only took 25 minutes and six pushes for Mary to deliver her beautiful big boy of just over nine pounds. She told us about the delivery of her daughter, which took place 14 months later.
While she was sitting on her bed (in the hospital) and the dilatation of her cervix had reached 8.5 centimeters, the doctor suggested to lie on your side to speed up the progress of labour. At the second contraction after her change of position, Marie felt the distinct impression that baby was about to come out. She informed the doctor, who replied that the incomplete dilation of her cervix made the imminent discharge of the baby unlikely.
The doctor still checked his cervix again, only to find that the opening was complete. She asks Marie to warn her of the arrival of the next contraction in order to initiate the thrusts. The contraction occurs… and the baby emerges into the open air!
As Marie was the only mother in labor in the delivery wing that evening, the nurses had gathered there to keep her company and they were chatting betweenthey. One of them is then written: “Quick, catch up with her! Marie thought the nurse was joking. "My doctor just caught it," she wrote in an email.
It goes without saying that if she and her spouse conceive a third child, she would like to experience this “dream childbirth” again…! Enough to make many women!
Ambulance attendant
May 2009. Paule had decided to take a bath, since the contractions weren't too painful or close together. Before she even had time to fill the tub, the contractions intensified, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. We had to rush quickly to the hospital, but when the mother-to-be puts her nose outside, she feels the baby's head between her thighs! She tries to get into the car, in vain. Her partner dials 911 and on the phone, he is told that he may have to help his better half give birth. Fortunately, the ambulance arrived a few minutes later.
A paramedic suggested she not push… advice she couldn't follow since the baby was pushing himself out! We laid Paule on a stretcher and cut her pants. The doors of the ambulance were barely closed when the little girl – impatient – was born! The paramedic who had never intervened in the context of a childbirth was, it seems, speechless…
Baby pushes instead of mommy
Oneplacental abruption forced Marie-Ève's doctor to plan the delivery during her 36th week of pregnancy. It was the last day of the year 2009. Mom's waters broke and after four hours of labour, she feels that a huge mass is blocking the way baby takes to see the day… They tell her that her daughter is right near the exit. Marie-Ève has the distinct impression that her little angel manages very well alone to go out and see the faces of mom and dad. The nurses wanted the progress to slow down a bit, as the doctor had not arrived. But when they saw that the baby didn't want to wait, they put a blanket under mom's bottom. Little Danaée immediately landed on the blanket, in a fetal position… Mom, you'll work hard enough when I'm born, she probably thought. Pushing myself out…
