Lianne Brennan hadn’t suspected there was anything unusual or out-of-the-ordinary for her body.
She was getting her period as per usual, although her lower back pains were a bit more severe than usual. Brennan explained that she’d had back surgery when she was 14, so she experienced lower back pains on a regular basis. “And I’ve always had severe period cramps – I just got used to the pain.”
There was no way she would have guessed that she was pregnant – until she coughed and went into labor on her own couch.
She knew immediately what was happening as soon as her water broke, and she “staggered around the house looking for [her] phone, but [she] couldn’t find it anywhere.” That was when she knew she would have to give birth on her own.
Although there was “blood everywhere,” the labor only took 30 minutes, and Brennan was able to cut the umbilical cord with a pair of nearby hairdressing scissors. She stemmed the blood by tying off the end with a hair tie from her own hair.
A neighbor came to call on Brennan just after she’d showered, and was about to apologize for intruding on Brennan’s personal time when Brennan corrected her: “No, I’ve just given birth.”
The neighbor couldn’t believe what had just happened and immediately insisted upon calling an ambulance to send Brennan and her newborn daughter, Echo-River, to the hospital.
There, it was confirmed that Echo-River had been born safely and in good health – although Brennan had been smoking up to ten cigarettes a day, drinking regularly, and moving heavy objects regularly throughout her pregnancy.
Brennan’s mother and sister joined her at the hospital to ensure Brennan and her daughter were doing well, and the new mother-child duo were able to return home shortly afterward.
