Rachel Kiser
Blogger | Mom of Two

We know how resourceful moms are. We can throw things together in a pinch and, when you add a little pressure, we get it done. One young mother shows us all how it’s done, however: 22-year-old Tia Freeman from Nashville, Tennessee delivered her own baby, alone, in a hotel room, using YouTube videos as her guide.

No, we are not kidding. Yes, we will tell you more.

Freeman, who is in the U.S. Air Force, didn’t even know she was pregnant until her third trimester. As a woman taking a certain form of birth control that causes her not to have her period, she chalked up her barely 20 pound weight gain to not hitting the gym as frequently as she was beforehand.

So, before Freeman realized she was pregnant, she bought tickets to visit her friend in Germany. Not wanting to waste money or a good time, she decided to board that flight- dangerously close to her due date. While on the plane she started experiencing some abdominal cramps. She figured the salmon she had for lunch upset her stomach (she’s normally a vegetarian) and continued on to her layover in the Istanbul, Turkey airport.

But things only continued to get worse.

As she waited through customs, she was nearly doubled over in pain, sweating and nearly unable to stand. The nausea was so extreme, as was the pain, that she decided to book it to a hotel. Not knowing this foreign country’s emergency number and whether or not her insurance would be accepted, she was averse to trying to figure out how to get to a hospital. On top of that, she knew this baby was coming… soon.

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, according to Freeman’s own tweets about her experience, she did what any resourceful Millennial would do, alone in a hotel room, in another country, about to give birth: she turned to the internet! Googling wikiHow articles and videos on how to birth a baby, she filled the hotel bath tub half full with water, got herself a towel to bite down on, a warm towel for her soon-to-be-born son, and got in the tub.

Almost immediately, her baby was on the way. Pushing only five or six times, Xavier came earthside! She checked the sex of her baby, then realized the placenta was still inside of her. After doing a little bit of reading, she waited for one of her next contractions, sat on the toilet, and dropped her placenta straight into one of the sanitation bags the hotel room had.

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

She then googled (of course) how to cut an umbilical cord. She made a makeshift clamp out of her shoelaces, which she sanitized in boiling water, and cut the cord herself using a pocket knife. She describes this part as the only time during the entire process she was nervous.

After the ordeal, did Freeman hightail it over to the hospital? Nope. She was exhausted. After cleaning up the bathroom and nursing Xavier, the two tucked in for a quick nap. Birth is exhausting, after all.

Tia Freeman

Whether or not this was a wise decision is here nor there. We are endlessly impressed and shocked by this young mother’s quick thinking and cool demeanor. I hope we get to hear from Tia and Xavier in the future; something tells me their lives are going to be anything but ordinary!

About Rachel Kiser

Rachel is a wife and mother living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She’s a fan of good coffee, wearer of gray t-shirts, and is constantly starting books she will never finish. Her family is her joy, and she loves to engage with other moms and dads on matters of parenting. Her blog posts have also been featured on the Today Show Parenting Blog and Scary Mommy.

View all posts by Rachel Kiser here.