Labour’s snow joke

‘Mummy, I’m calling her “snowflake” because she was born in the snow!’

by Alicia Harris

On Wednesday 28th February 2018 at around 4am, I started having faint contractions. At first, I wasn't sure if it was labour starting as my due date was 5th March, and l had been ten days late with my first daughter, so I was sure l was going to be late again. I started to time the contractions—they were coming and going now every ten minutes or so. I had to decide whether my husband, Jamie, should go to work or not, as he works an hour away and it had started to snow. I told him I was sure labour was starting and it was best not to go; I was so worried he'd get stuck in the snow as it was forecast to get heavier through the day.

With my first daughter, my contractions started at the same time; by 1.30pm I was at the hospital, 7cm dilated and she was born at 7.36pm. Everyone told me the second will be quicker, so I thought great, I'll be at hospital by lunch time!

By lunch time, my contractions were more painful but weren't any closer together. By 3pm, my contractions were still eight minutes apart. We decided to try and go for a walk. I had to be so careful as it had been snowing most of the day.

The walk helped and my contractions were now four to five minutes apart. I called the hospital and they asked me to go in because of how intense it sounded when I was having a contraction.

I thought yes this is it, not much longer surely and I'll have had the baby!

I arrived at the hospital at 7.30pm, but when I was examined I was told I was just 2cm dilated. I couldn't believe it! Because the weather was getting worse we were told to stay and go onto the ward. I was so frustrated by this point but as the midwife took us up to the ward, he told me to ignore the dilation number: I could be down in the labour ward in active labour in a few hours. He said you never know what will happen. I waited three hours in the ward—and reached 3cm dilation. My cervix was still posterior and I’d had enough—I just wanted to go home. I asked the midwife if it’d be ridiculous to go home but she said it was up to me and how I felt.

I was so uncomfortable and was getting more stressed being on the ward. I was worried this would slow the labour down, so we decided to go home. We left the hospital at 11pm: the snow was quite thick and it was -7 degrees. When we got home 45 minutes later, my contractions were still painfully intense so I decided on a bath to try and ease the pain. After half an hour of soaking, I felt a change—an urge to push. I figured I’d better get out of the bath! As I stood up, I started shaking uncontrollably and panicked. The contractions were coming thick and fast and the pain was unbearable; I could hardly walk from the shaking and felt faint as I tried to get dressed.

We needed to get back to the hospital. Jamie helped me down the stairs and into the car—the snow was getting thicker.

As I called the labour ward to let them know we were returning, I was screaming in pain and—without realising it—was saying I needed to push! The midwife told us:

‘Turn around, turn around! Go home and call an ambulance! You’re never going to make it to the hospital. Put the phone down and call an ambulance!’

Jamie turned the car around, we called for an ambulance and made it home. The closest ambulance was dispatched and it would be 15 minutes before it arrived: I was so frightened and in shock, but also in total denial that the baby was coming. I was only 3cm not even two hours ago! The dispatch operator told me not to get out of the car—if I fainted in the road, Jamie wouldn’t be able to get me in the house. He told Jamie to see if the baby’s head was there—it was. Jamie was told to go to the closest neighbour to get towels and blankets. I still couldn’t believe he was preparing us to have the baby, in the car, outside in the snow, in -7 degrees. My neighbour (who we thankfully know very well!) brought out towels and blankets and told me everything would be okay: I just kept saying ‘I was only 3cm!’

I was constantly asking when the ambulance would arrive and felt the need to push. The operator stayed on the phone with us and said, ‘Alicia, if you need to push, then push.’ But I needed the ambulance: I couldn’t have a baby in a car! When I saw the flashing blue lights, the relief was unbelievable. The paramedics opened the door to me screaming ‘I need to push!’ I couldn’t wait any longer; the paramedic scrambled to his knees in the snow, leaned into the footwell of the car, and with one push, the head was born. At the next contraction, at 1.25am, my baby was born. Jamie cut the cord, the paramedics got us into the ambulance and took us to the hospital. I just kept looking at my new baby: I had just given birth in the front of the car!

When we arrived back to the labour ward, the midwife stopped in his tracks: ‘Where have you been? I left you on the ward!’

‘Oh, well, I went home and had her in the car!’

We stayed overnight in the hospital and Jamie came to collect us the next day with our eldest daughter, Ava. ‘Mummy, I’m calling her “snowflake” because she was born in the snow!’ Sorry Ava, her name is Mila. ■