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How to deliver a baby by yourself

Giving birth at home or in a car when you planned to deliver at a hospital or birth center can be very scary. Despite what you see on TV medical dramas, this is very rare in real life. But there are close to 9,000 births a year that happen at home and are unplanned or unattended. If you find yourself giving birth alone at home or elsewhere, here's how to deliver your baby as safely as possible.

pregnant woman clutching belly while looking at laptop
Photo credit: iStock.com / Aja Koska

How common is giving birth at home without meaning to?

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, there are about 35,000 home births in the United States every year, and 8,750 of these happen at home unexpectedly. That's less than 1 percent of births in the United States. 

It's highly unlikely that you'll find yourself unexpectedly giving birth at home or in the backseat of a taxi – particularly if it's your first baby – but it can happen. If you've had no labor symptoms or only intermittent contractions and suddenly feel an overwhelming urge to push, it may signal that your baby is about to arrive.

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If you've had a previous labor that was fast and furious (precipitous labor), it's important to be especially attuned to the signs of labor. Be prepared to make a mad dash for the hospital or birth center, because subsequent labors can go even faster.

But if it feels like you're not going to make it and you find yourself at home (or elsewhere!) with contractions coming fast and strong or a sudden overwhelming urge to push, the following steps can guide you while you wait for the emergency team to arrive.

How to deliver a baby at home by yourself

  • Call 911. Tell the dispatcher that your baby is coming and that you need an emergency medical squad immediately.
  • Unlock your door so the medical crew can open it. You may not be in a position to get to the door later.
  • If your partner isn't there with you, call a neighbor or nearby friend.
  • Call your doctor or midwife. They'll stay on the phone to guide you until help arrives.
  • Grab towels, sheets, or blankets. Put one underneath you and keep the rest nearby so you can cover yourself and your baby immediately after birth. (If help doesn't arrive in time and you forget this step, you can use your clothes instead.)
  • Take off your pants and underwear.
  • Lie down or sit propped up. If you deliver standing up, your baby could fall and suffer a serious injury.
  • Try to stay calm. Babies that arrive quickly usually deliver with ease.
  • Do your best to resist the urge to push (try panting or breathing exercises).
  • Guide your baby out as gently as possible.
  • If the umbilical cord is around your baby's neck, either ease it over their head slowly or loosen it enough to form a loop so that the rest of their body can slip through. When your baby is fully out, don't pull the cord, and don't try to tie off or cut the cord. Leave it attached to your baby until help arrives.
  • Stay where you are until you deliver the placenta, which should arrive shortly.

What to do after an unassisted home birth

First, rest your baby on your tummy, skin to skin, and warm them with your body heat. Cover yourself and your baby with a dry blanket. Ideally, keep your baby's head lower than their feet until they start breathing.

Make sure your baby is breathing

If your baby doesn't breathe spontaneously at birth, stimulate them by firmly rubbing up and down their back. If your baby still doesn't start breathing, lay them on their back and rub their chest or tap the bottoms of their feet. If they still don't breathe, give them mouth-to- mouth resuscitation.

Try to breastfeed

While you're waiting for medical help, try to get your baby to nurse – but only if you can keep the umbilical cord slack, not taut (sometimes, if the placenta is still inside you, the cord won't be long enough to allow you to bring your baby to your breast). Besides offering comfort and security, your baby's suckling will prompt your body to release more oxytocin, the hormone that stimulates contractions, which will help the placenta separate and be delivered.

Be ready to deliver the placenta

You'll likely feel contractions and pelvic pressure, but it's usually much milder than what you feel during the delivery of a baby. Sometimes the placenta delivers on its own, and other times it doesn't. Don't pull on the cord to deliver the placenta. It's okay if the placenta remains in your uterus until medical help arrives.

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If the placenta does deliver, leave it attached to the cord, too – medical personnel will take care of it. Nursing after the placenta comes out can help your uterus continue to contract – and a well-contracted uterus is necessary to keep bleeding in check. If your baby won't nurse right away, manually stimulating your nipples will help release the oxytocin.

After you deliver the placenta, firmly massage your uterus by vigorously rubbing your belly right below your navel. This will help your uterus contract and remain contracted.

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BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

American College of Nurse-Midwives. 2011. Emergency preparedness for childbirth. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health 56(2):185-6. http://www.midwife.org/ACNM/files/ccLibraryFiles/Filename/000000000731/Emergency%20Preparedness%20for%20Childbirth.pdfOpens a new window [Accessed October 2021]

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2020. Planned Home Birth. https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2017/04/planned-home-birthOpens a new window [Accessed October 2021]

Boehrer RH. 2017. Emergency delivery: What to do when the baby's coming — right now. UT Southwestern Medical Center. https://utswmed.org/medblog/go-into-labor-home/Opens a new window [Accessed October 2021]

Harvard Medical School. Undated. Emergencies and First Aid-Childbirth. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/emergencies-and-first-aid-childbirthOpens a new window [Accessed October 2021]

MedlinePlus. 2020. Emergency Childbirth. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/17001.htmOpens a new window [Accessed October 2021]

Williams D. 2010. Giving birth “in place”: A guide to emergency preparedness for childbirth. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health 49(4):4852. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/j.jmwh.2004.04.030/abstractOpens a new window [Accessed October 2021]

Karen Miles
Karen Miles is a writer and an expert on pregnancy and parenting who has contributed to BabyCenter for more than 20 years. She's passionate about bringing up-to-date, useful information to parents so they can make good decisions for their families. Her favorite gig of all is being "Mama Karen" to four grown children and "Nana" to nine grandkids.
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