Laura had what many mums only dream of – a painless labour and birth. In fact, the mum-of-two didn’t feel a thing, because she was fast asleep. Really.
Laura had no idea she’d given birth until she was woken by the screaming of a nurse, who discovered her newborn in her hospital bed.
The 31-year-old teacher from Dallas, Texas, had been involved in a car crash on October 1 and was put on bed rest after she’d started having contractions. She was then admitted to hospital on October 9, a week before her due date, so she could be induced.
Laura told Yahoo News Australia that she was induced at 6am and had an epidural at 12pm, but her labour wasn’t progressing. Hours later she’d lost feeling in her left leg and dilated only six centimetres. She was encouraged by hospital staff to have a sleep at around 10pm, because bub wasn’t likely to make an appearance any time soon.
But just 20 minutes later, Laura was woken by a nurse screaming, ‘baby in the bed!’ Her baby boy Jonesy had silently made his arrival.
“Our awesome nurse came in to check on us and move me around because Jonesy had slipped off the heart monitor, which he had done several times,” Laura said.
“She woke me up, moved the blanket to move the peanut ball I was using, and yelled ‘BABY IN THE BED!’ and called for a code blue. Jonesy was laying on my numb leg.
“I honestly laughed when I saw him. I had felt him moving for so long that I just knew he was strong and okay. It was a surreal moment.”
More birth stories from the Grapeviner community…
- Birth Story: Mum feels no pain during ‘silent labour’
- Birth Story: ‘I had a 10% chance of falling pregnant’
- Birth Story: ‘I found out I was pregnant at 28 weeks’
About to (or just had) a baby?
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