I gave birth on my bathroom floor 30 minutes after the hospital sent me home

The mum-of-two was having contractions every seven to eight minutes and was 5cm dilated, but doctors said she wasn't ready.

A heavily pregnant mum trusted her body and headed to the hospital as she was having contractions every seven to eight minutes, but doctors sent her home. 

The now mum-of-two was also five centimetres dilated, but they still felt as though she wasn't ready.

30 minutes later, she gave birth to her baby on the bathroom floor of her home.

Shayanna Markham's story quickly went viral online, racking up over 14 million views and now her baby Harper has been dubbed 'The TikTok Baby'.

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"I caught her on the bathroom floor"

Posting to TikTok, Shayanna's sister shared clips that showed Shayanna and her husband Anthony walking into their house after coming home from the hospital. 

The text over the footage reads: "2:47 pm / coming home after being 5 cm".

At 3:08 pm, Anthony can be seen loading up their car ready to go back to the hospital. 

By 3:11 pm, he ran back to his car to get his phone to call 911, as the baby's head was already starting to come out. 

Moments later, baby Harper decided to make her grand entrance into the world.

"I just grabbed a towel from the towel rack and put it on the floor for some cushion," Shayanna told NBC Bay Area.

"And, within a few seconds after feeling her head, I pushed. I just couldn't help. You just had to and I caught her.

"I was in there by myself because [Anthony] went to go get his phone. It happened that fast."

Once he was back inside, the emergency services dispatcher apparently talked Anthony through tying the umbilical cord with a shoelace.

After a few minutes, emergency services arrived at 3:15 pm with a stretcher.

"They put their clamps on and then, gave me a sterilised knife to cut the cord," Anthony recalled.

At 3:34 pm they're shown wheeling Shayanna and bub outside, en route back to the hospital. 

Baby Harper is now a month old and is happy and healthy. 

"Unmedicated, unplanned home birth," the clip was captioned. Image: TikTok

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"Strong mama"

Commenters were left stunned, with many sharing their own similar experiences.

"They sent me home at five cm as well with my third, I ended up having her in my driveway! Hospitals should keep you at five!!" one mum wrote.

Another said: "This is legit how I was born and now it's my fun fact about me haha."

"I think it’s sooo sad AND dangerous when they send people back home when dilated and in labour! Strong mama," commented a third. 

Then a fourth pointed out, "The hospital would be paying for everything, including the ambulance ride."

Mum and bub are happy and healthy. Image: TikTok

"Deliveries happen unexpectedly on occasion," hospital spokesperson says

A spokesperson for the hospital put out a statement following the story, saying: "Our first priority is always the safety of our patients. While we can’t speak to this specific event due to patient privacy, deliveries do happen unexpectedly on occasion.

"We recognise the families and thank the first responders who are able to manage these situations."

"We take our patients’ concerns seriously and when we learn of concerns, we follow up to apologise, listen and respond."

Originally published as I gave birth on my bathroom floor 30 minutes after the hospital sent me home