Mom Gives Birth in Her Pants
by Sandy Maple Jun 10th 2009 2:00PM

Categories: Pregnancy & birth, Weird but true

One surprised mom found a baby in her pants leg. Image: Corbis.
We've all heard stories of incredibly quick births that happen in the most unexpected places. Sometimes these impatient babies make their grand entrances while mom is at home, in a taxi cab, a parking lot or even the front yard. As incredible as those stories are, a woman in UK has them beat. Her daughter came into the world not just at home, but via the leg of her pants while she was still standing!

23-year-old Katherine Allen isn't exactly new at this baby birthing business. Already the mother of two sons, she felt pretty confident that she knew what she was doing when she went into labor on May 9. When her contractions first began, she called the hospital and was told to wait until they were seven and a half minutes apart before coming in. Considering the fact that her two previous labors had lasted up to twelve hours, this seemed reasonable to her.

I guess it didn't seem so reasonable to her soon-to-be-born daughter, who decided that right this very minute worked better for her. "I got to the bottom of the stairs and I just felt this massive urge to push when all of a sudden my waters broke all over the hallway carpet," says Allen.

In an instant, her partner, Alan Moore, reacted to what appeared to be lump traveling down the leg of Katherine's gray sweat pants. "I was watching Katherine about to start climbing the stairs when all of a sudden she started screaming saying the baby was coming. I couldn't believe my eyes when it appeared and rolled down her leg -- I was just thinking I can't let it hit the floor and dived to catch it.

He sprang into action and scooped up 8 pound, 5 ounce Hannah just as she slid out of the bottom of Katherine's pants. Umbilical cord still attached and running up her leg, a shocked Katherine sat patiently on the stairs holding her new daughter until an ambulance arrived.

While dad cut the umbilical cord, paramedics and a midwife checked out mom and baby and found them both to be perfectly healthy. They didn't even have to go to the hospital!

Dad, of course, is thrilled about his experience assisting in the birth of his daughter. '"I feel like I have done more in a few hours with my daughter than some dads manage in the first few months -- it's exhausting but fantastic."

As for mom, she thinks gravity just might be the secret to easy childbirth. "My other births definitely weren't this easy and I will always recommend standing up to do it in future," she says.

http://www.parentdish.com/2009/06/10/mom-gives-birth-in-her-pants/?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl4|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parentdish.com%2F2009%2F06%2F10%2Fmom-gives-birth-in-her-pants%2F


WOW....is all i can say.

Wow talk about an easy birth!

Back in the ancient times, like biblical ancient, they used to give birth standing up because it was easier on the mother. I don't know why anyone decided to lay down. I've never had children so I wouldn't really know for sure, but it seems to me that standing up is better?

They decided to have women laying on their back to give birth because it gave the Doctors better accessibility in case something were to happen. But laying your back is THE WORST position to be in to give birth. You have more complications, need more intervention, and labor takes longer than if you are in a position where gravity can do it's own job.

That makes sense.

when i made my birth plan i wanted to be squatting using the squatting bar to help me push. but no one listened. stupid hospital drs! I wasnt allowed out of bed cuz i was on patocin. GAY!

My roommate actually mentioned that it started back with one of the King Louises when his wife was pregnant and he wanted to see how the whole process went. Laying on her back was easiest. For people to see that is. ;D [/not saying that's how it became fashionable at all; just relaying a tale she mentioned]

:-o Wow is all I can say, too ;D

LOL YES

wow!

*Starts running up and down stairs*

haha. when i was preggo i told my NCO's (my bosses in the army) that if i was getting too close to comfort to my due date i would go to hood stadium and climb the stairs.

haha good thing you have a decent set of stairs ;D

*lmao* Poor Genes.

holy crap. i mean you'd be like "yay it was fast" but if it were me and she practically fell out into my pants i'd be losing my mind.

AH - HER TROUSERS, YO. I WAS THINKING HER KNICKERS! I PRESUME THE BABY MUST HAVE ESCAPED THE KNICKERS TO GET DOWN THE TROUSER LEG!

GOSH, YO - IMAGINE IT DANGLING FROM THE UMBILICAL CORD, YO! KIND OF LIKE A BUNGEE JUMP!

lmao, where did you read about this?

the link is at the bottom of the story. =)

I was thinking the same as Estella- like a bungee jump! What I can't believe is that Dad realized what was going on with the "lump" in her pants, and dove to catch the baby lol!

well, what else could the lump have been? ;D

LOL..... good point! I am just amazed he realized what was going on IN TIME to catch her :P The powers of being a parent!

When I first saw the title, I thought of all those "in my pants" jokes...

I have given birth both ways, laying down and upright, it's a million times easier upright! I can't even describe how much easier! The midwife tried to get me to turn and lie down because she was new and it would have been easier for her (and less messy) and I screamed at her no way! I wasn't laying down for anyone after my first birth experience!!

I just had a baby two weeks ago, and let me tell you - labor was ten times worse when laying down!! I didn't have an epidural so maybe that had something to do with it, but I could NOT lay down longer than a few seconds for an exam here or there. Somehow, the gravity actually helped the pain.