You can help someone give birth! What to do if a baby comes surprisingly fast.

One thing that I love about my role as a midwife is demystifying health care. In our society, medical knowledge, and knowledge about our bodies in general, has been hidden from us. Too often, this knowledge is kept primarily within big medical institutions. As a midwife, I am passionate about sharing medical information with everybody who wants it, because after all, it’s our bodies and our babies, and it’s our fundamental right to know how to take care of them.

In this article, you’re going to learn how to help someone have a baby, if you ever find yourself in that situation. It’s not rocket science- it’s actually one of the most normal and human things on earth.

A quick note about language- I never use the phrase “delivering a baby.” The person who is having the baby is the one doing the work of birthing that human. As a midwife, I am just there to support the process. Pizzas are delivered— and babies are born.

Step 1: Take a Breath. Stay Calm. And remind everyone else to stay calm.

Staying calm during an intense situation is harder for some people than others. But in the case of a fast or precipitous birth, it matters. When we get stressed, our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that negatively affects the normal hormones the body produces during labor and birth, known as oxytocin and endorphins.

Oxytocin is the hormone that makes the uterus contract during and after birth, meaning that it not only helps us push babies out— it also helps our uterus release the placenta and then contract down to reduce bleeding after the placenta is born. So, why is this important?

It’s so important to stay calm because helping the birthing person reduce their cortisol levels will in turn support their oxytocin levels, thereby reducing the risk of postpartum bleeding. Taking deep breaths and creating a calm environment literally makes birth safer.

Step 2: Call the midwife, or 911

After calming down your nervous system and helping the birthing person calm theirs, call their provider. If they have a midwife and they haven’t already been notified, call them. If they are planning a hospital birth, call 911 to have an ambulance come so they can take both the birthing person and the baby to the hospital once the baby is born.

Step 3: Support the birth to happen slowly—the body knows what to do.

When babies are born this precipitously, there is very rarely a need to intervene in the birth process. You can support the birthing person to squat on the floor or lay down-—following their body’s cues—and help them receive the baby when they come out. DON’T pull on the baby’s head—just let them come out naturally and support the baby’s body if the birthing person is in an upright position (it can be helpful to have a towel nearby, because newborns are slippery)!

If the baby’s head comes out and the baby’s body isn’t born in the next contraction, have the birthing person get into a lunge position. This helps their pelvis open up even more so the shoulders can pass through.

Step 4: Keep the baby warm and skin to skin with the birthing person

Get a clean blanket, towel, or sweatshirt- whatever you have available, dry off the baby, and put them skin to skin with the birthing person. Skin to skin contact will help keep the baby warm and the towel or blanket will dry them off so they don’t lose too much heat. It’s very important to support babies to stay warm right after birth which helps them have the energy they need to learn to breathe. 

Also, keeping them skin to skin has the added benefit of increasing the birthing person’s oxytocin levels, which, as we talked about before, helps the placenta be born more easily and reduces their risk of bleeding.

Step 5: Don’t touch the cord!

Don’t touch the umbilical cord, and DON’T CUT THE CORD. It’s beneficial for babies to keep their cords intact right after birth. At the moment of birth, one third of the baby’s blood volume is in the placenta, and they need that oxygen-rich blood to help them transition to the outside world.

When the time comes, the cord needs to be cut with sterile instruments by a healthcare provider. It’s completely safe to leave the cord attached for hours or even days after giving birth (as long as you care properly for the placenta).

Step 6: Support the birth of the placenta.

Placentas are usually born 2 to 20 minutes after the birth of the baby, but they can sometimes take longer. Generally, birthing people feel immense relief after the baby is born because of a rush of good-feeling hormones, and then they experience crampy sensations— a sign that their uterus is releasing the placenta.

When cramps begin, support them to squat, and put a towel or bowl on the floor beneath them to catch the placenta. Sometimes, birthing people can gently pull on the cord themselves to help the placenta come around the pubic bone, but always let them lead the way.

Step 7: Aftercare

Once the placenta is born, put it in a bowl off to the side of the birthing person. Then change out the towel on the baby so they stay nice and warm, and get the person some water and food. By now, probably the healthcare provider has arrived and you can relax knowing you did your best to support this baby’s entrance into the world. Well done.

Being born is one of the few things that all humans have in common. I believe it’s a basic human right to know how to support folks in this way. If you want to learn more about birth and how birth works, check out my Youtube channel (PregnantTogetherYoutube) and my Instagram, @pregnanttogether.community