When Sandra Rhodes, 32, of Melbourne, Australia, first started having contractions, she summoned her husband, Jack, but before they could get to the hospital, she was forced to give birth on her own after only two minutes of labor. The Australian mother went to the hospital for a checkup a week earlier after noticing bleeding, but the doctor’s examination of her cervix revealed no signs of early labor.
According to Sandra, her doctor predicted the baby would arrive in a few weeks, but her other two children, Joey, 3, and Mia, 1, were also born so rapidly. She is not certain. I don’t want to be one of those women giving birth on the way to the hospital, Sandra jokingly said at the time. But a short while after, she realized something wasn’t right. Sandra was on her way home after her final day of work before going on maternity leave when she suddenly felt a strong pain in her tummy. She pulled over in a panic and called Jack, asking him to come get the kids so she could go home and rest.
When she went home, the ache persisted, and Sandra diagnosed it as Braxton Hicks pain false labor pain because she was pregnant. Sandra, however, went to the restroom out of desperation, and the pain instantly worsened. When her contractions accelerated, Sandra began timed them and realized she needed to call Jack once more.
She sat on the lavatory floor and murmured, “I think I’m going into labor.” She breathed deeply. Sandra recalled having “heavy and quick” contractions and requesting an ambulance from her husband. Sandra called for assistance and was informed that an ambulance was under route as he hurried home to assist his wife. I concentrated on my breathing, knowing that it wouldn’t take long before I.
“But as I gritted my teeth through another contraction, I suddenly felt my head press against my cervix.”
And that’s when she realized the baby was about to be born. The dispatcher still told her over the phone to sponsor the baby, but Sandra struggled to wrap her arms around her huge pregnant belly.
“Two minutes later, I felt another strong contraction,” Sandra recalls. “I pushed, holding the baby’s head and torso between my legs and then suddenly, it came out. Naturally, Sandra picked up the baby. her new-born baby picked it up and held it to her chest, and after a few minutes of panting, she heard its first cry.
She said: “My shoulders sagged with relief. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.”
Like their other children, Sandra and Jack decided not to find out the gender, so were pleased to hear she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Sandra was instructed to wrap him in a towel as she sat on the bathroom floor with the phone operator still connected. She tried to reach something, but was unable to do so. “That would have to do,” she replied pointing to a nearby bath mat. Sandra discovered her front door was locked shortly after the doorbell rang, making it impossible for the paramedics to enter. Sandra remembers: “We had to wait [for the paramedics to enter] until Jack arrived home. My son’s safety made me pleased, of course. He was in good color and had adequate respiration. Soon later, when her husband returned home, he was horrified to see his wife sitting on the bathroom floor with her son in her arms.
Sandra said his mouth fell open in surprise as she said and laughed: “Let’s meet our boy.”
After a quick check-up, the mother and baby were taken to the hospital, and because the baby was born prematurely and weighed just over two kilograms, he was taken to the intensive care unit, where he stayed for four weeks. Now, Eli is 12 weeks old and he’s doing great, Sandra said.
“I still can’t believe I gave birth on the bathroom floor.
“He really was our two-minute miracle.”
