People Who Have Watched Their Partner Give Birth Describe What It Was Really Like
For couples who want to have children, the actual child-birthing process might be one of the most trying experiences the couple will ever go through together.
But while many of us think of the process of pushing and the physical messes of birthing the baby, there's actually a lot more to it, and the partners who witness their other half giving birth tend to remember far more about the experience than just the blood.
Redditor Asleep-Awareness5249 asked:
"Men who have watched their wives/partners give birth, what was that like?"
Hilarious Moments
"My wife cussed out the doctor. I was glad we were forced to wear face masks because I was cackling when she would let him have it in-between pushes."
- OkVolume1
Inopportune Phone Calls
"My wife's phone went off during a really painful procedure, and she yelled, 'Who the f**k is calling me!!!!???'"
"But to be fair, one does not need to go thru painful procedures in order to justify saying this every time the phone rings."
- Veritas3333
Sort of Fascinating
"I was holding my wife's hand through two c-sections, the first an emergency."
"There was a low green cloth screen to stop her (and me) from seeing the actual procedure, but I'm tall, so I could see over the top anyway. Fortunately, I'm not squeamish. It was like a butcher's shop window (except very interesting)."
"They had a radio on and the first kid came out to the sound of 'First Of The Gang To Die,' which was funny."
"It all worked out well, both kids are great, a fascinating and completely exhausting experience."
- catbrane
Absolutely Not Useless
"As someone who had a 36-hour labor that ended in a c-section, I can say that having a partner there for you is a godsend. I spent so much time with my eyes closed, drifting in and out, not able to acknowledge my partner but I knew he was there the whole time."
"He was the person that knew me best out of all the strangers that popped in and out of the room. He was my advocate and anticipated what I needed before I knew I needed it."
"After, he said he felt totally useless and helpless but that couldn't be further from the truth."
- Timetogoout
The Importance of Aftercare
"You're the cheerleader in this game. F**king play your part and feel useless."
"A father's REAL test is aftercare. While your wife is recovering from childbirth, you are to do everything, and I mean f**king everything, for her that you possibly can."
"Men who don't change dirty nappies are just f**king p**s-weak men, and even more so if they brag about it."
- BlazeVenturaV2
Terribly Scary
"Am I a bad person if I say horrific? It was a c-section and seeing her knocked out like that was one of the most disturbing images I can recall. I nearly cried on the spot."
- Dyn085
Childbirth on Fast-Forward
"Our first was 13 hours, giving us a false sense of security for the second. It was only three hours."
"My wife didn't do an epidural for #1 and said, 'I didn't need to do that. I'm getting it for the next one.' So we get to the hospital and said, 'Give me the epidural.'"
"They say we need to get settled in the room. By the time we got to the room, he was coming out. There was no time for anything; the docs had to scramble."
"All things considered, both deliveries were 'fine.' It's mind-boggling that that is the best-case scenario; they were the most intense days of my life."
- thugarth
Don't Skimp on Breakfast
"My wife was going into contractions but they were pretty far apart, so we drive down to the hospital, stopping for Egg McMuffins along the way. I dropped my wife off at the receiving area for delivery with some nurses and the midwife and then I went back out to move the car because I was in a 15-minute parking area."
"While I was moving the car, I looked at that Egg McMuffin I hadn't been able to eat yet and was like, 'I totally have hours before this baby comes out. I should eat this sandwich now and not like, in the delivery room as my wife was trying to push a baby out.'"
"So I ate the sandwich, moved the car, and went up to the delivery room."
"At the reception desk there, one of the nurses said, 'I think your wife just had a baby.'"
"And was like, 'Nah, you must be mistaken. I just arrived. WE HAVE HOURS.'"
"So I went to the delivery room and there was my son, fresh as could be, and my exhausted wife who had just given birth."
- doublerapscallion
A Traumatic Experience
"My wife was in labor for about 35 hours. When we got to the point where she was ready to push, my son’s heart rate started to plummet."
"We went from a single midwife in the hospital room with us, encouraging and owning the whole process, to a team of doctors (about 10 people) who came to help within two minutes. They performed an episiotomy and had to pull my kid out with forceps and the vacuum."
"My wife lost about 1.5 liters of blood, and I remember sitting there watching all of this and thinking they would both die and my whole world was crashing around me. She looked like a ghost and he looked like a bloody, bleeding little alien when he came out. They rushed him to the NICU and gave him oxygen."
"My son is now almost 3 years old, my wife made a full recovery, and they are both the best people I know. It can be a traumatic experience for everyone involved, but f**k me if I don’t look back on it and remember what a warrior she was and what a fighter he is."
- upark88
New Admiration
"I saw a strength in my wife I don't think either of us knew she had. It was an incredible experience, and I was so proud of my wife and child. I'm glad they still keep me around."
- Druzl
Feeling Irrelevant
"This is really my experience in the maternity ward. You are 'dad' and you will carry bag and get water. Not because you are actually needed to carry these bags that could fit on this cart, or get the water from the sink over there that literally takes more time to explain where the cups are."
"But you need a job to keep you occupied, so get moving."
"I've never been so 'handled' before in my life, and I knew it was happening, but f**k if I was going to mess up the process and make them focus on anything besides my wife and kids."
"Nurses are the most amazing, and most evil things ever."
- mwbbrown
New Appreciation for Life
"With our firstborn, I had three primary thoughts:"
"1. Thank god for modern medicine, or both my wife and son would be dead."
"2. My wife is a godd**n warrior."
"3. I have a whole new appreciation for my own mother."
"Every birth is a medical emergency, and every successful birth is a miracle. Simple as that to me."
"A planned c-section for our second was much smoother."
- leftcoastbias24
Lonely and Helpless
"The loneliest and most helpless feeling in the world. She had to undergo an emergency C-section and went under shortly after they started. The head doctor made the call to not let me in the room, so I was stuck watching through a small window."
"The little man came out purple and not breathing and my wife was limp. For about five minutes, nobody came out to speak to me and I was quite certain both of them were dead."
"Then I heard him scream and cry and one of the nurses rushed him over to my wife and held him against her cheek. Shortly after that, the nurse handed him to me and said that both my wife and him were perfectly healthy. To say it was the largest range of emotions my mind and body had ever experienced is an understatement."
"We felt like we were prepared for anything during labor, but the emergency c-section really threw us off. Happened so fast. Luckily everything worked out, but it was pretty scary for a while there."
- AdvancedGentleman
Something Out of an '80s Movie
"It's kind of like the movie 'Aliens' but entirely based around a vagina."
- Digreth
A Message to Fathers
"So, I'm the wife. And we didn't get to take our babies home, but I delivered stillborn twins a few months ago."
"My husband said exactly the same as many fathers here, that he felt so helpless watching me give birth."
"But to me, that man standing there and holding my hand was exactly what I needed. It was both medically and emotionally traumatic, but I remember feeling calm and purposeful because I knew what needed to be done, and I knew that I was the only one who could do it."
"What I needed from him was his presence. He didn't leave me alone. He didn't run from any of it, and I think he saw more of the blood and such than I did (I was a little doped up and had my eye closed for the actual delivery)."
"I could do that, keep my eyes closed and focus on what my body was telling me, BECAUSE he was there holding my hand. I didn't need to be on high alert, because he was there. His presence and my trust in him helped me do the hardest thing I have ever done in my life."
- what_ho_puck
Whether the birthing process was really long or really short, whether it was complicated or straight-forward, many partners had shared experiences of being overwhelmed, of being proud of their wives, and of feeling like there was hardly anything they could do.
At least for the women who chimed in, though, them being there might have been the most helpful part.
Mothers Explain How They'd Feel If The Father Asked For A Paternity Test
In every relationship, there are bound to be some tough conversations, like how to budget and deciding whether to move somewhere new.
But there are other conversations, like getting a paternity test or going through someone's phone, that potentially imply a lack of trust.
Redditor BlueSharker asked:
"Women, would you care if your husband wanted to do a quick, basic, cheap DNA test to make sure the kids are 100% his? And why?"
Healthy Relationship
"I love the wording of a 'quick basic cheap' test, like hey, it's no big deal, this is a totally normal quick little thing healthy strong couples do!"
"Like, Baby, it's no big deal. I just want to test the kids' DNA to make sure I can trust you."
- kaksereciklira
Feeling Insulted
"I just asked my wife this, and she said, 'I will rip your nads off and feed them to you if you want that d**n test.'"
"So yeah, they care."
- exportz
Holy Insinuation, Batman
"Asking for this test either means:"
"1. You think I cheated on you but don't want to actually accuse me directly of it and deal with the fallout of being wrong which is both cowardly and insulting and also didn't work."
"2. You have been spending time on unsavory red pill internet sites and are dumber and more gullible than I thought when I married you and I've now lost all respect for your critical thinking skills."
"3. You don't want to be married or be a father to our kids anymore and are looking or an excuse to leave. Perhaps you are yourself cheating, or you are hiding some other secret or opinion from me and have been for a while."
"None of these scenarios are good. I would 100% be rethinking the whole marriage at this point. What else are you going to blindside me with and when? Probably better to just leave on my own terms than wake up one day and find you gone and all the accounts drained."
- Fantastic_Poet4800
Lack of Trust
"I wouldn't be opposed to the actual request because I have nothing to hide."
"But the fact that he felt the need to ask 100% indicates his lack of trust in the marriage and that is the bigger issue that I would be seriously concerned about."
"That would generally be my same response to any hypothetical requests for my husband to look through my phone. Like superficially, I don't care. It's just memes and pics of our kids. But the inevitable longer form conversation that gets triggered by that is why is the trust gone."
- golemsheppard2
Quiet the Haters
"I’ve offered it to my boyfriend for our one and only child to shut up all the naysayers in his family who were telling him it wasn’t his."
"And he said my offering is even more suspicious than not offering."
"Which, I don't know how the f**k that makes any sense, but whatever dude. The kid is yours. Do it or don’t. I don't care."
- linkxlink
The Terrible Mother-in-Law
"My ex-husband’s mom was really weird about our firstborn not looking like him."
"He and I are very different in looks, where he’s black hair, and tan skin, and I’m strawberry blonde, and very fair."
"The son was born with brown hair and blue eyes."
"He tans a bit but definitely doesn’t look like his dad... because he looks like a darker-haired version of MY dad."
"The crazy s**t was, my ex was cheating on ME for most of the marriage and both kids are absolutely his because I don’t play stupid games."
- Dorkadoodle
Child Support Conspiracy
"My father tried telling everyone I wasn't his kid (I was conceived maybe a week or two before he got caught cheating on my mum)."
"My nan took one look at me and laughed in his face. She eventually convinced him to acknowledge me and pay his child support. I love my nan."
- maybebabyg
Going No Contact
"When my parents’ divorce started getting nasty, my father accused my mother of cheating, and that I was the result of it."
"He asked me over and over again to get a test and sure enough, I’m his biological son. He didn’t believe the result and kept asking me to do more tests."
"Among other reasons, I don’t speak to him anymore."
- Loopnova_
Taking the Estate
"I got my revenge on my dad's family who never believed I was his (my parents were together for 30 years but never married)."
"He passed away without signing his will. At his funeral, his sisters poked at my nose and pulled on my ears, questioning whether I was really their niece."
"So I got a posthumous paternity test done. The entire estate went to me and I didn’t give them a dime."
- qiwizzle
Empathetic Testing
"I would not care. My husband found out late in life that he has a different biological father due to DNA testing and it crushed him. I would understand that the test has more to do with that circumstance than his trust in me."
"That being said, even after going through everything with his dad, he never tested our kids, but I told him multiple times to go for it and I’d be totally fine!"
- CharacterLoquat6950
Accidental Discoveries
"One of my best friend's dads bought her and her two sisters Ancestry.com tests only for her older sister to get a 'Congrats! You have a half-sister!' email after my friend’s results were submitted."
"Obviously, she called her dad like 'What the f**k is this,' and he had them retest the results twice."
"He had to be the one to break the news to my friend. He absolutely had no clue before this happened, and he broke down crying and told her that she was still his daughter regardless."
"We were 24 at the time, and I genuinely can’t imagine how it must’ve felt to be either of them receiving that news."
"Her mom even tried to deny it at first before finally coming clean."
- ElysianReverie21
Grocery Store Antics
"'Here's a picture of my kid' … 'and here is the DNA test proving it!'
"'Can I leave now, officer? He just likes to scream kidnap for fun…'"
"Sigh. I love taking them to the grocery store with me."
- drewbreeeezy
Dad Jokes Galore
"I recently discovered that none of our three children are mine biologically."
"I feel so stupid, I should have known something was up when they all existed before I met my wife."
"All kidding aside, as a stepdad, I do find it genuinely tragic when dudes completely abandon kids and withdraw all love because it's not theirs, not their problem. I understand complex emotions surrounding the marital betrayal, but I can't imagine just peacing out on a kid whose fault it categorically isn't."
- Overthinks_Questions
What's the Point?
"Our kid looks so similar to my husband that her face unlocks his phone."
"Sure, do the test."
- noopibean
Not the Mother
"As a child, I overheard my Mom say to my Dad, referring to me: 'She is nothing like me. Are you sure you didn't cheat on me?'"
"I really never had much in common with my Mom, and at that age, I didn't know anything about how babies are made, so I thought she was serious and lived with that doubt for a few years."
- MsMaggieMcGill
While some people were able to make jokes or could otherwise point out why paternity testing had been helpful in their own lives, most were concerned about the lack of trust asking for a test implied.
Children are not for everyone. Yes, to some they are "bundles of joy," but to others, they are simply not a good choice.
For example-children are expensive. Most millennials don't make a ton of money, hardly enough to support themselves, let alone a family.
Others see the state of the world and think, "Why would I bring a child into this?"
u/Yuckoz asked:
What's your main reason for not wanting children?
Here were some of those answers.
Not My Style
There doesnt have to be a reason. I dont want to raise kids. You can choose not to work a desk job or choose not to own a vehicle without a big discussion, but if you choose to not have children, people suddenly get interested in your business. I don't want to. Simple as that
Not Responsible Enough
The idea of being in charge of another human being, scares me.
It seems like a lot of things can inadvertently go wrong, even if you try your damn hardest to be the best parent you can possibly be. I mean, just take a look around you, at your peers or even at yourself. Pretty much no one comes out of their childhood unscathed. You got humans raising humans, so there's bound to be mistakes made along the way.
It's a lot of responsibility. It's a lot of time and it's a lot of money.
More power to the people who choose to become parents but I wish more people took the time to better understand the full commitment that they are about to embark on for the rest of their lives. When you become a parent, you no longer live your own life, your life now revolves around making sure that you are providing the best possible life for your child. It can mean a lot of sacrificing to ensure that your child has a better life.
For many people, just because they can have a kid, it doesn't mean that they should.
That's my two cents. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Pain
I don't ever, ever, ever want to go thorough pregnancy. It's terrifying to me. Also I just don't think I'd be a good parent. I'm still recovering from my own childhood; I shouldn't be responsible for someone else's.
Not My Path
I just don't see the appeal.
People have different dreams in life.
Some want to achieve great things, some want to help other life, some want to conquer the planet that has life, some want to look for undiscovered life.
It just happens that the natural biological imperative is to reproduce & make more life - hence the idea is so common.
I just don't want to do that, simple as.
Anxiety
I feel like I'd ruin them. I feel like I'd be an awful mother and make my child grow to resent me. I feel like I would completely fail a small human, or at the very least my self hatred would be reflected onto them and they would feel less loved and valued because of my mental illnesses.
Peace And Quiet
I just have no desire to. Having kids is too much of a hassle and I would much rather spend my time and money on myself than on a child. Plus, I enjoy the freedom and peaceful quietness that I get from being childfree.
Mental Health
Personally I don't see how it could make me happy. I'm very insecure about my own body and I would hate it so much more if I got pregnant and had a child. I never think I'm good enough at anything so I would kill myself worrying about if I'm a good enough parent. I don't see how dealing with behaviour, eating being a hassle, never having time for yourself, a child waking you up early, having someone else to worry about, and having more expenses could possibly make anyone happy. Maybe I will change my mind when I'm older, but I won't even be thinking about having a child until I'm fully happy with myself and my mental health has improved.
Money Money Money
The cost of having a child, plus I have a lovely host of diseases on both sides of my family that I could potentially pass on to my hypothetical child (Alzheimer's, diabetes, high blood pressure, weight problems, and so on).
Plus I don't want my life to be restricted - if I want to go on holiday, I don't want to have to wait until school holiday time so my child can come too (plus then you end up paying double the price, because that's when everyone wants to travel somewhere). If I want to move from one house to another (or hell, from one country to another), I don't want to have to worry about finding a house in the radius of a good school. I also don't want to constantly fret about my child's academic development - getting them into good primary schools (the best one in my city charges something ridiculous like $40,000 per annum for years 1-6), then worrying about getting them into a good university, and so on.
I want to be able to live my life freely - spend my income on fun things like a quick weekend getaway to the wine country, or whatever. I don't want to tie myself down.
Bad Lineage
Family history for disorders like autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia. Thankfully all I have is anxiety, but my mental health combined with the thought of having a child that struggles similarly or worse scares me. For the longest time I dreamed of the marriage/kids route, but there are a lot of "what-ifs" that have made me decide it would not be good for me or the child. It's hard enough some days for me to keep my shit together, adding a child on top of that seems like a not good idea.
A Bad Direction For The World
The environment is only gonna get worse tbh, the competition in schools and the workplace as well. Also, children are expensive and it's a little hard to travel the world for months when you have kids around. And I guess kids seem like they could turn out nasty too easily and I don't really wanna deal with that. That's probably about all the reasons.
Anti-Motherhood
Motherhood is a trap. If you stay home you have no income that you could possibly use to regain your independence if your relationship fails, if you keep working people think you're a bad mother, and no matter what, as the woman the majority of the housework and childrearing will be dumped on you (even if your partner says he'll do his fair share)
Having kids chains you to the person you have them with. It stifles your dreams for yourself, every good part of yourself is sucked out for the kids.
It's a straight up snare trap that you can never escape from (from my perspective)
A Hugely Analytical Look
Having kids is a bizarre combination of selfish and selfless behavior. You have to give up your autonomy completely, a totally selfless act right? Except you're doing it in the name of creating a half copy of you in order to maintain the future spreading of your DNA all over the world. I think a lot of people do it just because it's "what your supposed to do" and end up dropping the ball and creating dead weight in the world or worse. I think child rearing is only something worth doing if you put in 100% and I am not prepared to commit to that. If you drop the ball you may well be making the world shittier because of your selfish whim to clone yourself
Unfair Expectations
A few different things, one big reason is that I am consumed with my goals and I worry that I would be absent or resentful. A second concern is that the child would become a project and that I would push them too hard. It's an atmosphere I grew up in and, while it has shaped me in a big way, it created a lot of anger and resentment.
When It Passes Along
Aside from enjoying my lifestyle as it is (which would basically become nonexistent since my hobbies are both expensive and not child conducive) my real answer is that my mother has suffered with depression her whole life and so have I and I can't imagine creating something I love more than anything only to pass (essentially) my family defect onto them and watch them suffer with it for their entire life.
Kids? Ew, Next
I just kind of don't like children.
I don't like people much to begin with, but I get on with some people if we have similar senses of humour or interests.
Kids are like extra-annoying miniature people. They're loud, obnoxious. They require near constant care/supervision/attention until they're 13/14 or so. They ask stupid questions and require me to dedicate large chunks of my time and attention to them, much less bankroll everything they need - which is a lot.
The upside is, what? I get a child that lives in my house and calls me "Mum"? That's a terrible trade!
It's Much Too Hard
Not a solid never, but I nannied for 7 years and helped raise 2 sets of kids (3 infants from newborn to 4/5 year old kids).
Being a nanny you get to see the dynamic of the families you work with and you also are the person mom and dad vent to and it just seems really... hard? Especially with all the stress with the world we live in, should they be enrolled in more activities? Should we be doing more at home with them? If they're not in private school Will they get a decent education and go to college? How do we pay for that? Who will pay for braces? Who will pay for therapy if something traumatic happens or they need help? Who can watch them when both parents work?
I respect parents but I'm just not sure that I want to bring a child into this mess nor am I sure that I want to allocate all my funds and time to raising a little tiny person. It's a giant commitment and seeing it from the inside, I'm Just not sure it's the choice I want to make for myself..
Fathers love their kids. There's no question about that. But fathers have one major advantage when it comes to babies--they don't have to do the physical labor.
Giving birth itself, well...it's painful. We all know that. But men have the luxury of not totally knowing.
But what if they had to?
u/ry_seemor asked:
Here were some of those answers.
The Details Matter
It depends what hole they are going to come out of.... lol otherwise yes. I love being a dad!
No From Me Dawg
Hell no! I wanted kids and so did my wife. We had kids and I love em all, and I am so proud of my wife and impressed with what she did - but I wouldn't want to go through it. Gaining weight, I could do that. Swollen ankles, nausea, being uncomfortable all the time...ok. But the actual birth? No. Even with all the medications, hell no.
Now, take this for what it's worth coming from a guy on the internet, but I'm a pretty tough guy. I can push myself pretty hard and if I can walk off some pretty serious injuries (or at least not cry while I'm getting carried off). But one of the worst things in the world isn't getting hurt, it's knowing you are going to get hurt, bad, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
In 8 months you are going to feel the worst pain you have ever felt. in 6 months. In 2. In a week. Tomorrow. 4 hours. 1 hour. 15 minutes...
That is psychological torture.
(Regarding the countdown, we had an induced labor)
The Risk Involved
Not a father but I may want children in the future...
I would feel the same. Having children is a terrifying (and beautiful) prospect, even not having to carry the pregnancy. I'm both scared and drawn to it, regardless. I would be scared for my SO's and children's health and well being both for during the pregnancy and worried that I would not be a good enough parent in the upbringing. I'm pretty confident that I could do a good job, but I also think it would be naive not to have misgivings. For the actual pregnancy as is I would be worried about my SO's health. Pregnancies and deliveries still do frequently enough go wrong and end up dangerous, and it seems like all pregnancies do have permanent physical consequences. In some way it would almost be easier being able to face that myself rather than see a loved one risk it, but it would also be a difficult thing to face as the one at risk too.
It Makes It All Harder
I wanted one, maybe two, so it's not like I'd have been birthing an army. Now at 2 and no one has to worry about pregnancies anymore.
Honestly I'm always slightly shocked we're not dying off planet wide, we need to average more than 2 each just to maintain and I can't imagine either side choosing to go for 3+
Aggressively Male
Yes. I just watched my wife give birth all natural (no pain killers) a month ago. Most women will not want to hear this, but I honestly believe I could crush it. I'd be like those MMA fighters on youtube getting pepper-sprayed, then attacking a punching bag. The whole maternity ward would hear me. I'd be like "YEAH, I'M CRUSHING IT!!!!" And they would know what's up.
Nope
Love being a dad but envied absolutely nothing about pregnancy, labour of delivery.
Ladies deserve much more credit for what they endure and sacrifice!
Spare Her
Yes. I want two and I would happily carry them myself if I could spare my girlfriend the pain.
Dad Forced To Deliver His Own Baby At Home With Just One Hand After His Wife Went Into Labor While He Had A Broken Thumb
A dad was forced to deliver his own baby at home using just one hand after his wife went into labor and gave birth - while his broken hand was in a cast.
Jade Brown, 24, went into labor in the middle of the night and it happened so quickly she had to give birth at home on the sofa.
Rhys Darby's left arm was in a huge plaster cast because he had just broken his thumb in three places, leaving him unable to use it at all.
But that didn't stop Rhys, 28, who safely caught baby Ariana in one had - while also juggling towels and a phone.
Paramedics arrived minutes later and Rhys quipped "I've done your job for you" before they cut the cord and took mom and baby to the hospital.
The family are now safely back home in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England - and Rhys joked changing diapers with one hand was just as hard as delivering babies one-armed.
Alex Cousins/SWNS
He said:
"I had the cast on one hand and a phone in the other - trying to deliver a baby! I was running around trying to find towels while the woman on the line was trying to give me instructions."
"I bent down and stuck my hand out and the baby just came out. The ambulance arrived two minutes later and they cut the umbilical cord. I said: 'It's alright - I've done your job for you!'"
"It's funny - Jade was adamant in the run up that she didn't want me near the business area during the birth. I should have brought my baseball glove - then it would have been fine! But it was quite scary."
Alex Cousins/SWNS
Jade said:
"I was so glad that Rhys got to be so involved with the birth of our baby girl and I am so proud of him for delivering her - especially with a cast on his arm."
"He was amazing during and after the birth and he's an amazing dad to Ariana."
Rhys broke his thumb when he fell backwards playing five-on-five soccer for the first time in six years.
His arm was put into a bright blue plaster cast from his knuckles to the middle of his forearm for eight weeks.
A week later girlfriend Jade's water broke when she bent down to pick up a sock, and they went to the hospital, but she wasn't dilated enough and they were sent home, on June 19.
Alex Cousins/SWNS
Rhys added:
"We were told to come back the next afternoon if nothing happened and they would start her off, so we went home. Jade tried to get some sleep, but by 2am the pain was overwhelming."
Jade said:
"I was trying to just breathe through [the contractions], but they were getting more intense so I went downstairs and sat with Rhys."
"I was squeezing his hand every time I got a contraction but as time went on I couldn't cope with the pain and told Rhys we needed to go to the hospital."
They called for a taxi, but when things got more serious Rhys dialed 999 and was connected to an operator who told him the ambulance was on the way.
But the situation escalated and he had to get involved.
"After a few pushes, our baby girl Ariana was born on the settee," said Jade.
"I remember lying with her on my chest and I couldn't believe how quick it all happened."
Ariana's official time of birth was 4:23am.
Alex Cousins/SWNS
Rhys said:
"Jade had no pain relief apart from a couple of paracetamol and some gas and air in the ambulance."
"I had wanted to do the honor of cutting the umbilical cord but the paramedics said I shouldn't, because of the situation."
"Apparently we were quite lucky. Lots of stuff could have gone wrong. Ariana is a miracle, really. She was conceived two months after Jade had a miscarriage."
A spokesperson for North East Ambulance Service confirmed a crew attended.