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If you use YouTube just to watch your favourite old TV shows, songs and other viral stuff, this story will make you change your viewpoint forever!
Updated : Apr 26, 2018, 02:44 PM IST
If you use YouTube just to watch your favourite old TV shows, songs and other viral stuff, this story will make you change your viewpoint forever!
A young computer specialist working with the US Air Force used YouTube video to deliver her own baby at her hotel in Istanbul Turkey last month.
The story came to light after the young mother shared her incredible story in a very long Twitter trail on Wednesday, April 25.
Tia Freeman was on her way to Germany from the US for a vacation when she started having contractions during a stopover at Istanbul airport.
First, hse thought she was suffering from food poining due to the salmon she ate on the plane. But soon, she realized that she was in labour.
Without losing a minute, Freeman decided to check in her hotel in the city.
‘I make it to my hotel & now I’m sure I’m in labor. There is no way in the world I’m not in labor because I can barely standup at this point. So I’m in a foreign country, where no one speaks english, I don’t know this country’s emergency number, & I have no clue what to do (sic),’ Freeman said while talking about those anxious moments on Twitter.
‘So in true millennial form I decided to @Youtube it. If no one else had my back the internet would!,’ Freeman later watched the ‘water birth’ videos and used the bathroom to deliver her own baby without any help.
The scariest part in the whole process was when she realized that she had to cut the umbilical cord. With great presence of mind, Freeman used her shoe laces as clamps and cut the cord with the knife she used to carry in her bag.
Later, the US Consulate had to confirm the delivery in order to issue the birth certificate.
Here’s the full, unbelievingly true story from the mother’s mouth:
I didn’t know I was pregnant for awhile (already in my 3rd trimester) and before you ask the birth control I was on made it so I didn’t have a cycle every month. So not having a period wasn’t an indicator for me. On top of that I didnt really gain any weight.
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
Me when I found: pic.twitter.com/An5QA3hX8A
So then I’m in denial for another month after that like there’s no way a Bitch is preggo. At this point I’m working in VA and away from everyone so I just decided not to tell anyone. My dumbass was like maybe it’ll just go away... pic.twitter.com/TtSMTqc7Ln
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So I had already purchased tickets for a vacay in Germany and ya girl was not about to waste international flight money. So I was like if the boy comes on time I should be all good in the hood. So I came home for two seconds before hopping on the my flight to Germany. pic.twitter.com/SWYOpatnEN
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So everything is going well no biggie but dawg this is a 14hr flight & there was a complimentary meal but everything had meat in it & you know I’m a vegetarian so I was like I can’t eat this but 14 hrs was too long to wait so I decided to eat the salmon hoping I wouldn’t get sick pic.twitter.com/9CfF4XzYzT
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
No I don’t know if it was he salmon, the flight, or it was just my time but out of no where I start cramping up. I’ve still got like an hour left before we land. I just knew I had food poisoning. Y’all I was HURT pic.twitter.com/WBgWcG0NkU
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
I’m like oooooh shit where are these cramps coming from? You know what I’ll just go to sleep. Sleep cures everything right pic.twitter.com/z9QcUxdMtD
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So anyway I make it until we land but when I wake up the cramps have gotten worse and I’m like okay I just want to make it to my hotel. Its my layover and I’m only here (Istanbul, Turkey) for 17hrs. But getting through customs took FOREVVVVVVVERRRRR pic.twitter.com/VUFDhyrCR1
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
I’m literally gripping the railing trying to make it through the lines. At this point I feel like I’m about to pass out. I’m sweating. I feel like I have to vomit. I’m going through it. Then I’m like wait a minute bitch are you in labor?!!! pic.twitter.com/p6SMEfunP0
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So my ass decides to google it. The internet was like well my good sis the only thing different between labor and Braxton Hicks is your water breaking. This was completely not helpful so now I gotta wait until then to knownif this is legit or not. pic.twitter.com/fzXPGcDtV0
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
Either way it goes I’m not giving birth in this airport so I start gassing myself up bc I am NOT having a baby in this airport. I start talking to myself like Bitch what you’re not gonna do is give birth on the airport floor. So you need to get it together & make it to your hotel pic.twitter.com/Ywjk9fmsaD
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
I make it to my hotel & now I’m sure I’m in labor. There is no way in the world I’m not in labor because I can barely standup at this point. So I’m in a foreign country, where no one speaks english, I don’t know this country’s emergency number, & I have no clue what to do. pic.twitter.com/sk6k10zdu5
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So in true millennial form I decided to @Youtube it. If no one else had my back the internet would! So here my ass is in my hotel room all by my lonesome learning how to deliver my own baby pic.twitter.com/v13ZhF6O8h
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So yo it’s GAME TIME. I don’t have time to be nervous. It’s time to get shit done. I spring into action. Filling up the tub with warm water #WaterBirth, grabbing a towel to bite down on, grabbing another towel to wrap him/her up with whenever it pops out pic.twitter.com/PVu2SWLCiG
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So anyway. I strip down and climb in the tub. The internet said there were a couple positions that people find the most comfortable. I picked the one that worked for me and I was like okay BOOM let’s birthed this baby. pic.twitter.com/I6BabFMcCD
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So the internet said I shouldn’t start pushing until my contractions where 2mins apart. Bc you don’t want to exhaust yourself too early and then not have any energy when the kids ready to come, you know? And I’m like okay bitch you’ve got a timer on your phone. You can do this! pic.twitter.com/QSi7iJ4vAx
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So the internet said I shouldn’t start pushing until my contractions where 2mins apart. Bc you don’t want to exhaust yourself too early and then not have any energy when the kids ready to come, you know? And I’m like okay bitch you’ve got a timer on your phone. You can do this! pic.twitter.com/QSi7iJ4vAx
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
My contractions were already at a minute a part lol I was late as hell. I BARELY made it to my room. so I throw the towel in my mouth and start pushing. And I have NEVVVVEEERRRR felt any pain like this in my life. I felt like I was being split open. WHERE WAS MY EPIDURAL?! pic.twitter.com/HGlootcNHu
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
Luckily it happened pretty quickly. I only had to push about 5-6x before a baby popped out. Lol now let me tell you babies are buoyant. That little joker said bloop and floated right on up to the top of the water pic.twitter.com/IuqwKXFb2L
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
At this point I have no clue what the sex of the baby is so after catching my breath I lift it up like “What is it?” pic.twitter.com/dMUwCDO58X
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
Also Side Note: #WaterBirths are not as pretty as what you see on @YouTube there was no tranquil, hippie music playing gently in the back ground, or amazing natural lighting. It gets MESSY. pic.twitter.com/Igv5g6i7C4
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
Anyways ITS A BOYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! And the very first thing I do is pull up his natal chart born March 7, 2018 in Istanbul Turkey pic.twitter.com/UPrhMBzLSu
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So finally it feels like I’m having another contraction and I assume this is the placenta ready to drop it like it’s hot. So I shuffle to the bathroom and sit down on the toilet because idk where else to go pic.twitter.com/UpGTANtLnh
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
Almost immediately as I sit down it plops out. The hotel had these sanitation baggies in the bathroom so I just picked it up by the cord and dropped it in the bag. Now it’s still attached to him so now I’ve got to google how to cut an umbilical cord. pic.twitter.com/urJHrIu9mN
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 24, 2018
So I didn’t have any clamps like it suggested but what I did have were shoelaces lol. Hear me out. In Turkey everyone drinks tea/coffee so every hotel room had an electric kettle. So I just boiled some water to sterilize the laces so that I could use them as clamps. pic.twitter.com/2vObBQz6eu
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 25, 2018
And everyone knows that ya girl stays strapped. I don’t go anyyyyyyyywhere without my knives. And because of this I’ll probably never go anywhere without them again. pic.twitter.com/vAbCZ6bb1K
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 25, 2018
Fortunately it doesn’t (which the internet said it wouldn’) so I cut right into that thang! And it’s tougher than it looks lol pic.twitter.com/dRXfpwuesa
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 25, 2018
Umbilical cord cut and I did a mighty fine job if I do say so myself! At this point exhaustion is beginning to set in. But I need to clean up the bathroom because it looked like the set of a horror movie pic.twitter.com/DyvlwXXeQ2
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 25, 2018
Side Note:
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 25, 2018
Shoutout to @TurkishAirlines this was hands down the best flight, attendants, services, and overall workers I’ve ever experienced. Everyone was so nice! They bought him his first outfit lol. Because he was damn near naked when he arrived pic.twitter.com/8R1TbasUJx
To wrap up I go to the hospital get checked out everything is fine. He’s perfectly healthy! Lol the doctors were shocked to hear my story. I made national news & people would stop us to take pictures all the time & a random elderly woman grabbed my boob as I was breastfeeding pic.twitter.com/gGp4lJvEvl
— Tia Freeman (@TheWittleDemon) April 25, 2018
‘The experience taught me so much. I learned how to be resourceful and calm under pressure. I was able to bond one on one with my son from his first breaths,’ the young mother was quoted as saying by The Independent.
However, Royal College of Midwives (RCM) issued a statement and said that it "strongly discourages" women from giving birth alone.
‘Whilst the RCM recognises that every woman has the right to give birth without professional assistance, there are potential risks for both mother and baby and for that reason the RCM would strongly discourage women from giving birth by themselves and without professional support or skilled medical help,’ RCM spokesperson was quoted as saying.