Unexpected home birth

The Banker family hadn't planned a home birth just as the city of Nashville hadn't planned to be flooded on May 2nd. While James was driving his wife Cindy to the hospital early that morning, they came across flooded streets and were forced to turn back. Cindy was having contractions every three minutes by the time they received help from a neighbor named Batty who was also a nurse. Within minutes, a team of medical professionals all got word of the lady in labor and gathered at the nurses house to help deliver the baby. This team consisted of two pediatricians, a plastic surgery resident, a neonatal nurse practitioner, a childbirth educator and a high-risk obstetrician.

The neighborhood pitched in supplies and the Bankers had a beautiful home birth. Clare Banker was born around 1pm with better care at her neighbor's house than she could have ever gotten in a hospital.

Imagine all of those people combined into one, all of those hands packed into just two, and you've got yourself a highly qualified midwife who could have delivered that baby all by herself.

We were just miles away from the Banker's neighborhood. One of my mom's doula clients lives in a nearby neighborhood. When she heard about the lady in labor, she called my mom to see if she could assist the Bankers. Again, with all of her equipment, my cute little mom could have delivered that baby all by herself. Of course, she wasn't able to get out. With our roads the way they were, it was a good thing so many medically trained people were close by.

Batty the nurse was pleasantly surprised by the natural experience:

"This is how it used to be done," Batty Said. "There was something just so natural about it."

Her comment makes me wonder how many natural births she's ever seen in a hospital. I also wonder if the Bankers will plan a home birth next time. It's a beautiful story-one that was told in THIS article as well as THIS one.