"I had an unmedicated three hour labour and gave birth in 40 seconds – I didn’t have to push"
Credit: SWNS / Cianna Gonzalez
A unmedicated mum gave birth in just 40 seconds when her baby "shot out" - because of a medical rarity.
Cianna Gonzalez, 24, experienced the Ferguson reflex, when the body 'expels' a child.
Also known as the fetal ejection reflex, it is often seen in home births - but rarely in a medical setting.
Stay-at-home mum Cianna, from Philadelphia, says she felt her son "descending" without control.
And he just slipped out after a three-hour labour - where he was caught by a midwife.
A unmedicated mum gave birth in just 40 seconds when her baby "shot out" - because of a medical rarity.
Cianna Gonzalez, 24, experienced the Ferguson reflex, when the body 'expels' a child.
Also known as the fetal ejection reflex, it is often seen in home births - but rarely in a medical setting.
Stay-at-home mum Cianna, from Philadelphia, says she felt her son "descending" without control.
And he just slipped out after a three-hour labour - where he was caught by a midwife.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 My baby shot out completely involuntary. I did not have to push him out.
00:05 So while I was giving birth, what basically happened to me is called the Ferguson reflex.
00:10 My baby shot out completely involuntary. I did not have to push him out. He came out on his own.
00:17 I have my birth video up on my page, but when you watch it, you can hear me screaming, "The baby is coming! He's coming!"
00:23 And that was me screaming to my team that I'm going to need hands on deck because I could feel him descending outside of my control.
00:32 I was standing up while I was giving birth, so I also feel like just me being in that position and the way that gravity works, it was also just pulling him down.
00:45 So if you're pregnant and you're preparing for labor, I would definitely look up some breathing techniques.
00:50 There wasn't any technique that I did specifically, but I just focused on making sure I'm taking very slow, deep breaths.
00:58 I was fortunate enough to be able to birth in a birth center and the environment that birth centers have, especially the one I was at, really allowed me to relax.
01:06 I was able to move freely without being hooked up to any machines. I was able to be in warm water.
01:13 And I do firmly believe that those things helped me progress my labor instantly.
01:19 I know that these are amenities that are not necessarily available to anybody, and for that, I would definitely recommend have somebody keep you accountable for your breathing and try to make the environment as relaxing as possible.
01:31 Maybe you want dim lighting, maybe you want certain music, maybe you don't even want to be talked to, maybe you just want silence.
01:36 Try to think of those things and think about what might help you relax.
01:39 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:42 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:45 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:52 (gentle music)
01:55 you