First-Time Mom Gives Birth in Just 9 Minutes

For moms-to-be, the prospect of childbirth can be pretty daunting, prompting a cascade of questions. How long will labor last? How long will I push for? It’s true that first-time moms usually have longer labors—but as a British mom just proved, there are no guarantees. Nicole Jamieson delivered her first child in nine minutes, one of the shortest labors on record in the UK.

After her water unexpectedly broke overnight, the Manchester mom went into rapid labor—and after pushing for a mere two minutes, she gave birth on her bathroom floor.

The day before the birth, Jamieson and her partner Jack Fallon spent the afternoon in the sun indulging in tasty fajitas, they told the Daily Mail. As the couple got ready for bed around 2 a.m., Fallon, wanting to get one last laugh from Jamieson, performed a rousing rendition of “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” The soon-to-be-mom laughed so hard she peed her pants (at least that’s what she thought). She went to the bathroom to run a bath, but seven minutes later felt the urgent need to push. The baby was coming.

Fallon ran outside hoping to have better cell phone reception to call for help. Much to his surprise, he returned inside just in the nick of time to welcome his son into the world, three weeks before the due date.

“It was nine minutes in total from my waters breaking. I was pushing for two minutes. It didn’t hurt but I didn’t really know what was going on,” Jamieson said. “Obviously as soon as I realized he’d arrived I was worried, but Jack grabbed him and shoved him onto my chest and then he peed on me and started crying, so I knew he was OK.” Thankfully, despite her lightning-fast delivery, mom was too.

The fastest UK birth currently stands at five minutes and three pushes, but the mother had been induced at the hospital, so Jamieson thinks she may have achieved the fastest non-induced labor to date.

Jamieson’s birth defintely falls into the ranks of crazy labor stories you don’t hear every day. Labor that short is extremely rare; according to the American Pregnancy Association, the three stages of labor usually last somewhere between 6 and 18 hours. So while you might be in labor longer than nine minutes, take heart—you’re in good company.