Like many things in life, giving birth doesn’t always go to plan.

In the months leading up to the birth, women often develop quite a detailed picture of what the experience will look like. They consider which hospital they’ll go to, which pain relief they’ll use, and who will be in the room. Some women like to have more control over the situation than others. Our very own Mia Freedman blow dried her hair before giving birth, only to abandon all concern for her hair about a third of the way in.

But as anyone who has given birth would know, babies are wildly inconsiderate when it comes to your plans.

They’ll come when (and where) they feel like it. In the last few years, we’ve heard about a woman giving birth on the street outside a clothes shop in the UK, another woman having a baby during her wedding in India, and another giving birth to a little girl in a tree in Mozambique.

While we learn CPR and first aid in the case of emergencies, few of us have any idea what we should do in the case of a surprise birth.

Watch The Motherish team reveal their first thoughts upon seeing their baby. (Post continues after video) 

So The Motherish spoke to Marcia Morris, a midwife educator at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, to get some answers.

In her 25 years as a midwife, she’s seen some less-than-conventional birthing scenarios.

She calls them ‘surprise births’. We call them ‘our worst nightmare’.

There was the time a woman gave birth in a car, on the way to the hospital. There was the time a baby had to be delivered in a wheelchair, in the hospital foyer.

So Marcia has plenty of experience, and practical advice, when it comes to getting a woman through a child birth situation she wasn’t expecting.

To start with, she says it’s essential that if you find yourself in a scenario where birth appears imminent, you must call Triple Zero – 000. As a midwife, Marcia doesn’t encourage women to deliver births in an uncontrolled environment, and even once the baby is born, it’s crucial for the mother to receive medical attention as soon as possible.

Even if emergency services don’t arrive in time to deliver the baby, they will be able to talk you through the birth. But while you’re on the phone to Triple Zero, there are a few things you can do to facilitate the birthing experience.

Marcia starts with the basics for me, because it’s quite obvious that I am clueless when it comes to the stages of childbirth.

So leading up to the birth, what should a support person do?

Okay. They need somewhere to deliver the baby – got it. But where would the best place be?

That’s interesting. I asked Marcia about giving birth in the bath, because it seems to be the go-to place for childbirth in movies and on TV.

But then, why does childbirth on TV always seem to happen in the bath?

Okay, so that’s a no to the bath.

I wanted to know what a support person can do in a psychological sense, to emotionally support a woman who is in the process of giving birth. What is one to say to someone who is currently experiencing one of the most painful experiences of their entire lives?

BE CALM.

So what if I’ve (somehow) remained calm (which is highly unlikely), and the baby has actually arrived. What then?

Don’t pull on the cord. Don’t touch the placenta. DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING.

WHAT NOW?!

That is something I definitely would not have thought about. What other things would the average person not consider in this type of emergency situation?

MUST. GATHER. BLOOD. LOSS.

This makes sense. Anything I can do to help the paramedics. Because in a situation as confronting as a surprise birth, they will be absolute angels in my eyes.

So the real question is: does it happen often? Is giving birth unexpectedly in a public place something that pregnant women need to worry about?

*Feature Image via iStock.

This post first appeared on The Motherish.