15 Craziest Birth Stories That Could Have Been Movie Plots
Even in the best-case scenario, giving birth to a child is a painful, strenuous, and stressful experience for both the pregnant woman and for those partnered with her in the birthing process. Labor often lasts for hours on end — sometimes for more than an entire day — the pain at times is nearly unbearable, and emotions run raw.
See 15 of the craziest birth stories.
15. The Transoceanic Flight Delivery
What would you do if you had contractions on a plane, hundreds of feet above the ground? That’s what happened to Aida Alamillo who gave birth to a healthy baby on a flight to San Francisco from the Philippines. The plane was five hours away from landing on the American soil, but Aida was assisted by three on-flight nurses who made sure everything went as smoothly as possible.
14. The Leap Day Trio
David and Louise Estes should try their luck in the lottery! Three of their five kids were born on consecutive Leap Days. The previous record was set in the 1960s, but this is on another level! We wonder what their birthdays would be like!
13. Twins Born in Different Years
When Stephanie Peterson imagined the delivery of her twins, she didn’t know she would be the mom of a spectacular coincidence! Going into labor before her due date, she found herself giving birth to a son on New Year’s Eve. She had to wait before giving birth to her daughter though, which happened the following day, on New Year’s Day. Christmas time must be an even crazier time for this family!
12. Got a Driver’s License, Then a Baby
Now, this is a story of determination and self-confidence! We are inspired by Emily French, then 20-year-old Scottish soon-to-be mom. Her contractions began early on the day of her driver’s license exam. Instead of heading to the hospital, she chose to go to her test instead. The amazing news? She passed, even with her contractions occurring every 10 minutes, and then drove herself to the hospital and delivered a healthy baby.
11. Delivery on the Sidewalk
When Ana Belis Hernandez realized she was going to give birth while riding a cab, she quickly mentioned it to her cab driver. The latter, without any shame, kicked her off the taxi, and drove away as she was left alone, delivering a baby on the sidewalk with no help.His reason? He didn’t want to “get blood all over the place.”
10. Driver Turns to Birth Coach
We have four heroes in this story: the mom, the dad, the baby, and the Uber driver! When the couple got in their Uber/Lyft ride to head to the hospital, they didn’t know that the baby would outrun them. The baby started coming out while they were still in the way, so they all had to improvise. The cab driver was helpful, as he told the couple these now-iconic words: “Honey, you got to breathe, Mami” and “Do the magic, do the magic, spread your legs, Mami.” A true legend.
9. Should I Call You Grandma or Mom?
Sara Connell decided that nothing would come between her and motherhood, not even a lack of ovules nor two failed pregnancies. Her mom then offered to be the surrogate of her daughter, even if she was 61 years old. After passing tests and clearing for postmenopausal birth, the grandmother gave birth to her daughter’s baby.
8. The One Who Knew Nothing
Jennifer West was living with her husband a quiet and simple life until severe stomach and back pains hit her on the Fourth of July. After heading to the hospital, she discovered that she was going to give birth! Her body didn’t show any sign of pregnancy, as she continued having her monthly periods. Her baby was born healthy and happy!
7. The Marathon Mommy
Amber Miller is a sportsy woman, and everyone knew it. What they didn’t know is that after joining the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, she would be delivering her baby! After her doctor gave her the go-to to participate in the marathon, the Illinois mom started her race but quickly realized that she was having her first contractions. She nevertheless finished her race, grabbed a bite, then headed to the hospital to give birth to a beautiful baby girl.
6. The Abducted Mom-To-Be
This could be the plot of a movie. A kidnapper abducted a pregnant woman from her garage. After driving her around Detroit highways, he shot her and lit her on fire. She played dead, then rolled out of the fire. A few days later, she gave birth to her baby!
5. The Fifteen Pounder
In late July, the largest German baby on record was delivered at a hospital in Leipzig. Little (and we use that word lightly) Jasleen weighed in at a staggering 13.47 pounds. Even more amazing is the fact that Jasleen is not the largest newborn of the year! A British child named George King entered the world earlier on in 2013 weighing a whopping 15 pounds, 7 ounces! That is nearly twice what the average newborn weighs!
4. The Smallest Survivor
The smallest baby ever born that went on to survive and thrive weighed in at barely 9.2 ounces. Pick up a can of soda, dump a quarter of it out, and then you’ll be holding the same weight at which little Rumaisa Rahman entered the world. She had only been in utero for 26 weeks, and her survival was a medical miracle, but survive she did, and today she’s a spunky elementary school student.
3. The Octomom
Nadya Suleman delivered EIGHT KIDS AT ONCE! Suleman, AKA The Octomom, holds the “distinction” of being one of only a handful of people to deliver octuplets, and the only one on record to have all her children survive. We should clarify that all the children from that multiple birth survived, as had all six of her previous kids. And they were all born after IVF treatment. That’s a total of fourteen kids. Wow.
2. 75 Days of Labor
For most women, a labor lasting a full 24 hours is a nightmare. Labor lasting 75 hours, or more than three days? That would be hellish! But one British woman had to live in labor for more than 75 days! That’s over seven weeks, people. Joanna Krzysztonek was carrying triplets when she went into labor at just 21 weeks (40 weeks is full-term). Sadly, she lost one of her unborn children, but doctors were able to arrest the labor process through medical intervention, saving the other two kids until they were big enough to be delivered. To top it off, part of this process involved the having the saintly woman spend all those weeks inverted, almost totally upside down.
1. The Biggest Baby Ever
So far as we know, the largest baby ever delivered weighed in at well over twenty-three pounds. That is, to be clear, three times heavier than most newborns, and more weight than most people use for bicep curls. Many children do not reach that weight until they are more than 18 months old! The giant baby was born to a woman named Anna Bates back in 1879. Sadly, the baby died less than half a day after its birth, but the Bates baby has gone down in history as the largest ever.
