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Precipitous labor -

The stories you hear of people giving birth in the car on the way to the hospital are usually due to precipitous labor, or labor that comes on very fast.

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What is precipitous labor? -

Precipitous labor is the experience of being in labor and then giving birth less than three hours after contractions start. Typical labor lasts between six and 18 hours on average. 

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Signs that precipitous labor is starting -

In early labor, contractions are mild and irregular, and after a few hours, will become stronger and more consistent, preparing for the birth of the baby. However, if contractions suddenly speed up and become very intense, especially if not much time has passed, it could be a sign of precipitous labor. 

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Signs that precipitous labor is starting -

Other signs of precipitous labor include feeling like there isn't a break between contractions and an intense need to bear down and push.

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What should you do if you think you are in precipitous labor? -

If you think you are in precipitous labor, call your doctor or midwife right away and describe your situation. They may ask when the contractions started and how far apart they are to figure out the best way to proceed.

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Who’s at risk for precipitous labor? -

Those who have a history of precipitous labor are more likely to experience another rapid labor and delivery. Chronic high blood pressure, fertility treatments, and intrauterine growth restriction can also increase the risk of precipitous labor.

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In Disneyland -

In 1984, while Margarita Grandos' husband was riding Space Mountain at Disney Land, she went into labor and gave birth to a baby girl.

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In a tree -

In March 2000, torrential floods in Mozambique forced heavily pregnant Carolina Chirindza and her family into a tree. While clinging to its branches, Carolina went into labor, and her mother-in-law used a capulana (a long sarong) to catch the baby. 

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On the front lawn -

In July 2008, Jennifer Coffman of Ann Arbor realized she was going into labor. Her waters broke when she was getting out of the shower, and by the time she was helped to the car, she could feel the baby coming. Five pushes later, and on the front lawn, Jennifer's daughter was born.

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In a library -

In January 2009, Dominique Trevino was riding the bus to the hospital when she went into labor. A passenger noticed what was happening and told her to get off the bus and call an ambulance. Dominique made it to the library when she felt her baby coming; it only took two pushes for her to deliver her baby girl.

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In a post office -

On May 11, 2009, Sonia Marina Nascimento gave birth to a healthy baby girl in a Cambridgeshire, UK, post office. Postmaster Paul Childs put the baby on the scales, and she weighed 5lb 15oz (2.34kg).

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In a mall -

In August 2010, Chasity Davis went into labor three weeks early at Michigan's Fashion Square Mall, and the baby wasn't waiting. Members of the public helped to deliver the baby while on the phone with a medical response dispatcher.

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In an art gallery -

In 2011, Marni Kotak, a conceptual artist, gave birth to her son in the Microscope Gallery in Brooklyn as a piece of performance art. She said she wanted to show that giving birth was the “highest form of art.”

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Twins on two different highways -

In 2012, Long Island resident Siobhan Anderson went into labor. During the drive to the hospital, Siobhan asked her husband to pull over, where she gave birth to the first of her twin boys. They continued to the hospital but had to pull over again for Siobhan to give birth to their second son.

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At a wedding -

In July 2012, a French bride gave birth to her son during her wedding ceremony, a week before her due date. Moments after the happy couple tied the knot, the bride felt unwell, and the emergency services were called. However, her waters had already broken, and her baby boy was born on the spot.

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At a NASCAR race track -

Shawna Arnold and her boyfriend were making their way to the hospital in September 2012 but weren't fast enough. The couple pulled into the parking lot of the nearby New Hampshire Motor Speedway race track to give birth.

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In jail -

In October 2012, a pregnant woman was arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness. She was kept at the Santa Cruz County Jailhouse overnight, but upon her release in the morning, she went into labor prematurely. The jail's medical team helped deliver the baby girl.

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New York Subway -

In December 2013, a woman gave birth to her baby on a Manhattan subway platform. Emergency teams responded to a report of a woman in labor at the Broadway/Lafayette station in NoHo. When they arrived, she had already delivered the baby.

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In a stream -

In 2013, Simone Thurber gave birth to her daughter in a stream in the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. She filmed the delivery and posted the video to YouTube, where it gained more than 52 million views.

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In a taxi -

On February 4, 2015, pregnant Aleid Farnum-Ford, from London, England, went into labor and called a taxi to take her to the hospital. However, upon getting into the vehicle, her waters broke. Taxi driver Stuart Bluman raced to the hospital and alerted paramedics, who delivered the baby in the footwell of the car.

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In a hospital elevator -

In May 2022, pregnant Betzabeth Perez made her way to Medical City Dallas when she started having contractions. Hospital security cameras saw her enter the building, with Betzabeth looking uncomfortable as she approached the elevators. Moments later, Betzabeth emerged from the elevator with her baby girl in her hands.

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In a residential elevator -

In October 2022, Déborah Bittar, from Brazil, went into labor and attempted to make a dash to the hospital, but only made it to her apartment building's elevator before giving birth to her baby girl. 

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In a McDonald's parking lot -

On January 11, 2024, Analysia Beck and her husband, Daniel, were on the way to the hospital after her water broke. However, two minutes into the car journey, she felt her son coming. Daniel pulled into a McDonald's parking lot, and baby Micah was born.

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On a plane -

In March 2024, during a flight from Amman, Jordan, to London Luton Airport, a woman's waters broke. Luckily, doctor Hassan Khan was on board and successfully delivered the baby girl. According to the flight attendants, she was the 75th infant born on a commercial flight.

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In a car -

Giving birth in a car isn't an uncommon occurrence. One of the most recent deliveries happened in 2024, when a mom from Lexington, Kentucky, gave birth in the front seat of her husband's car on the way to the hospital.

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Celebrities who have had unexpected births in the strangest places -

American comedian and TV host Seth Meyers and his human rights attorney wife, Alexi Ashe, delivered their baby in their apartment building's lobby. They were walking to an Uber when Alexi gave birth right there and then. 

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Jade Roper -

'Bachelor' star Jade Roper gave birth at home in her closet. Her baby girl came two weeks earlier than expected.

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Ryan Michelle Bathe -

'This Is Us' star Sterling K. Brown appeared on 'Live With Kelly' and revealed that his wife, Ryan Michelle Bathe, gave birth to their son on the bathroom floor.

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Charlotte Church -

Welsh singer-songwriter Charlotte Church had originally planned to give birth under a tree in her garden but ended up delivering her baby girl on the bathroom floor.

Sources: (Cafe Mom) (BBC) (Yahoo! News) (Business Insider)

See also: How to survive as a couple after becoming parents

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