About those speedy babies (updated)

This is a little piece I knocked together in the hope of reassuring mothers and birth partners who are anxious about experiencing a precipitous birth or a BBA. I first posted it on my blog back in 2017. Enjoy!

NB. Image is not necessarily a precipitous birth. By their nature, they are hard to capture.

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A precipitious birth is one that takes less than three hours. It doesn’t happen very often, despite what Hollywood likes to portray 😉 A BBA (Born Before Arrival) is where the baby arrives before the midwife gets to you. Sometimes, labour seems to drag on for a while and then everything happens in a big rush at the end.

Here is the disclaimer:

• Obviously this isn’t a medical guide, and should not replace advice from your midwife.
• It's just some suggestions from a layperson to mothers who have any anxiety about birth happening quickly.
• It is not medical advice.
• It is not a guide to freebirthing, or a recommendation to give birth alone.
• It is all under the assumption that medical help is on the way to assess mum and baby and give any assistance needed.
• I am in the UK, so if you are reading this from across the ocean (coooeeee!) be aware that guidelines may be different where you are.

TL;DR –

Stay warm, stay calm, keep baby skin to skin and don’t touch the cord. 🙂

Note

Some people make a mad dash to the hospital at the last minute. This is entirely up to you – you need to factor in the risks of driving quickly while distracted and possibly having a baby in the car while moving, or at the roadside, versus staying put somewhere warm and safe and letting the medical help do the dashing.

Honestly? I don't advise the mad dash. A lot of the stuff I'm about to suggest here is much easier to manage by staying put. It's much harder to support your partner if you are driving. It's much harder to keep mum and baby warm at the roadside. It's much harder to conjure up all those towels and hot water in the back of a taxi.

Some of these things are worth thinking about for any labour, wherever you are.

For the mums:

As you get closer to giving birth, it’s helpful if your notes and birth plan are somewhere easy to find and the telephone numbers you might need are in an easy-to-see place, next to your house phone, or stuck to your fridge. For a lot of people, this is all digital now, anyway.

“Ohmy%£¥@! This baby is coming NOW! EEK!”

Step one: Breathe.

Adrenalin won’t help you or your baby at all. So take a moment for this step. It's worth it.

You are doing wonderfully. You have some time. Enough to breathe. If not for you, for your baby. He or she needs a plentiful supply of oxygen, right? So shut your eyes if it helps, deep breath in through your nose, imagine a golden rush of gorgeous oxygen to your womb, baby, and placenta. Blow it out softly and slowly. Repeat.

If you have someone with you, they can do a lot of this stuff for you. If not, it's simple stuff you can do for yourself.

Step two: call your local MLU (midwife led unit), or 999. They will reassure you. They may send an ambulance and paramedics rather than a midwife, or they may send both. (You can insist on a midwife.) Midwives have to obey the laws of the road – speed limits and traffic lights and so on – but an ambulance can usually get to you more quickly. You should be treated as a high priority call. If your partner calls, they may keep them on the phone and reassure them, or talk them through how to help you if needed.

If you're alone and your partner will take a while to get to you, you might want to call someone nearby who can come and be with you – a friend or neighbour. Preferably someone who is generally unflappable and whose presence will help you stay calm and feel safe.

Make sure whoever comes to help will be able to get in when they arrive! Unlock your front door, leave it on the latch, switch on outdoor lights if it is dark out.

You and the baby both need to be warm. Make sure there’s no draughts (close windows and doors) and maybe turn the heating on.

Grab some towels to put under you and to dry and warm the baby with, and maybe a big bowl to put the placenta in (although health care professionals are fairly likely to be with you in time to deal with that).

Stay as calm as possible, and remind yourself that if it is happening fast, it is usually happening well.

Say it again: If it's happening fast, it's usually happening well.

Get somewhere comfy and safe (for example, not on the stairs).

Try a “chest to floor” position with your bottom in the air – this may help to ease the intensity for you, and maybe slow the descent of the baby a little bit.

Don’t fight it, don’t force it.

Some people might advise you to pant, or try to hold your baby in – I can’t imagine how or why this would be helpful. On the other hand, if you push for all you’re worth you are more likely to hurt yourself. Let your body do what it has to, and relax as much as you can, knowing that your body is working beautifully and help is on the way if you should need it.

Get into whatever position feels right. Your partner might gently remind you to stay off your back. This is usually good advice, because it allows your pelvis to flare back which should make it easier on you and your baby. Try it. See how it feels. But above all else, listen to your body.

Put your hand down to feel your baby emerge - this will help protect your perineum.

You don’t have to “catch”, as such. Some people find this idea a little bit daunting (how slippery will the little tyke be, what if I miss?!) If there is a soft landing for the baby, you or your partner can just guide the baby down to it gently, and then you can pick the baby up confidently and hold them to your chest, skin to skin, when you are ready. Don’t pull on the baby in any way as they emerge.

If you are in water (for example, in the bath) put nothing in the water (think of baby’s eyes!) No bubbles, no aromatherapy oils. Then it should be safe enough for baby to be born into it. They are in water right now, remember, and they are protected by the dive reflex. The main thing to keep in mind is that baby is usually stimulated to breathe by exposure to air. So either keep your bottom well down under the water, or just make sure that once the baby is exposed to air that they don’t go back under.

Keep baby skin to skin, stay calm, stay warm, put a cover over you both. Your baby might not be bright pink as per movies and TV – this is usually OK, too. Rub them with a towel. Touch their head, face, back, hands and feet, and talk to them.

Leave the cord alone.

By this, I mean: don't tie it off or cut it. Most likely it will be intact and functioning just fine, giving the baby oxygen in those first moments while they get the hang of what lungs are for. It may be looped around the baby’s neck as they are born – this happens in about a third of births and most of the time it’s okay and easy to unloop. It is most likely blue, plump, and pulsing. It sort of looks loosely springy - nearly like an old fashioned telephone cord.

The placenta will probably come out without any intervention – it usually takes longer than if you had the injection, but your body should be primed to release it physiologically if that is your preference. You might feel some tightenings or pushy sensations (not as strong as before), or you might have an urge to get more upright. In that case, go for it – it is ok to listen to your body. Maybe stand or squat and try using a little downward pressure if you feel the urge, but if not never mind the placenta for now - just cuddle your baby while you wait for help to arrive.

They are likely to get to you fairly quickly. They might discuss with you whether or not to have the injection for the placenta. They will probably want to clamp the cord (if you are not ready for this yet it is fine to wait longer). They might recommend you go into hospital. If you and baby are well (which is what we hope and expect!) then this is a choice. Your choice.

Even if your birth is quick, there's still a degree of stress on the body that you need to recover from, so get as much rest as you can. Be very kind to yourself. Remember that the area where the placenta was attached to your uterus is an open wound that needs to heal all the more reason take it really easy for a little while and ease back into things as gently as you can.

I hope that is helpful – if I missed anything, please mention it in the comments! 🙂

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