You can make a birth plan weeks in advance, discuss and refine the finer details with your midwife, but sometimes your baby just has other ideas.
Earlier this week a baby boy was born mid-flight after his mum went into labour earlier than expected on the Isles of Scilly where there was no midwife. Alicia MacDonald was air-lifted and heading to hospital, but ended up giving birth to baby Torran in a helicopter 1,400 feet above Cornwall.
But Alicia isn’t the first mum to give birth in an unusual location. Inspired by her remarkable story, here are some other extraordinary birth stories that will leave kids with a tale to tell.
The Supermarket
Ashleigh Miller-Cross, from Canada, didn’t know she was expecting her second child when she started to do her weekly supermarket shop in April 2017 - she had given birth to her first child 10 months earlier.
The mum rushed to the toilet when she started to experience contractions and thankfully a staff member saw she was in pain and found a doctor to help. She gave birth to a son, Ezra.
“I presumed I hadn’t lost any weight because I only had Mia 10 months ago,” Ashleigh said at the time. “I didn’t grow any extra. I was just the same size. I didn’t have any cravings.”
We love the fun photoshoot Ezra starred in after the event.
In A Hotel Room
American 22-year-old Tia Freeman made global headlines when she gave birth by herself in a hotel room in Turkey earlier this year. The mum said she was in denial about being pregnant, but when push came to shove she relied on YouTube videos to guide her through labour. She gave to baby Xavier Ata.
“It’s weird how focused a person becomes when they’re adrenaline starts going. Because at no point ever did I freak out. Like I just did what I had to do,” she said at the time.
The Hallway
Jes Hogan made it to the hospital when she went into labour earlier this year, but a bed was just too far away. Instead, the mum proceeded to give birth in the hallway. Despite the rush, photographer Tammy Karin, from Little Leapling Photography in Kansas, was on hand to take some remarkable photos.
In An Uber
A woman known only as Babli, from south Delhi, India, reportedly gave birth in the back of an Uber in December 2015. Thankfully her driver, Shahnawaz, was happy to help with the labour and immediately drove mum and baby to the local hospital to be checked over. Babli was so grateful for the help, she agreed to let Shahnawaz name her child. He chose to name the newborn after the company he works for: Uber.
The Garden
Unlike the other parents in our list, Sarah Schmid’s labour in an unusual location was entirely planned. The mum decided to give birth in her back garden, without medical assistance and with her other children watching close by.
The mum-of-six, who lives in Halle, Germany, even set up a camera so she could share the experience on YouTube, where it has since gained more than 1.2 million views. Commenting on the birth, midwives told HuffPost UK free births without medical assistance are not advised.