Home delivery: Healthy baby delivered on living room floor

ST. IGNATIUS — Expectant mothers should expect the unexpected, but Anne Morigeau had quite a surprise last week when she gave birth to Emily Marie Morigeau — at home, on the living room floor, after Emily came into the world a little sooner than expected.

The healthy baby weighed in at eight pounds, nine ounces and was nineteen inches long on the day of her unexpected arrival, July 3.

"I pushed twice and she was here, it was so fast. My water broke at 5:04 and she was out at 5:10. I have no idea why it went so fast but I'm not complaining," Morigeau said. "I guess the contractions I was having all day did something because she just flew out — not at all how I thought natural labor would be. I was expecting it to be a lot longer. Towards the end it was not easy so I was lucky it went so fast."

Morigeau wanted to have a "natural birth" so she intentionally didn't go to the hospital when her contractions started. She planned to wait until closer to the delivery time, but Emily changed that with her quick arrival.

"I didn't want to have to wait in the hospital so I was hanging out at home, watching the clock, and waiting for the contractions to get five minutes apart. I planned to wait as long as possible so I could do it without any painkillers," she said.

Things couldn't have gone more smoothly if Morigeau had planned the home birth, though. Her mother, Katherine Mitchell, who aided in the delivery, is an Emergency Medical Technician for the St. Ignatius Volunteer Ambulance crew. Tim Mitchell, her father, is a volunteer fireman and was on hand to direct the ambulance.

Morigeau herself had just finished EMT training.

"After everyone left the house except my mom, I had a really strong contraction. I said 'Mom, she's coming' and I collapsed to the floor. My mom said 'No, she's not.' My mom was freaked out that the cord could be wrapped around the baby's neck, but I've never been more grateful that my mom was an EMT. She was very professional; she did a really good job. When I was having contractions she told me to relax and breathe, and she talked me through it," she said.

Despite her worries about complications, Mitchell appeared composed to her daughter.

"I know enough about delivery to be scared but luckily nothing went wrong. It was perfect. Anne did a great job," Mitchell said. "She did exactly what I asked her to do except for the pushing part. I wanted her to wait."

Little Emily didn't feel like waiting, though.

"After Emily came out my mom cut the cord with the kitchen scissors. She washed them first," Morigeau said.

The ambulance showed up soon after Emily was resting in her mother's arms.

"My dad was on the radio telling everyone that it was Emily's birthday," she said.

Doctors at the hospital told everyone that the mother and baby were healthy.

"At the hospital they examined her and me. We had planned on a different hospital so none of our information was quickly available but after we were examined they said we were OK," Morigeau said. "Everyone thinks Emily is a month old already because of how strong and alert she is."

The customary 24-hour hospital stay still applied to Morigeau and her daughter.

"I had to stay in the hospital for 24 hours to make sure there were no complications. I wanted to hurry up and get out so I could have a Fourth of July barbecue. I felt so good. I really didn't feel like I'd just had a baby," she said.

Emily's father, Jeremiah Morigeau, was in disbelief when he found out how his daughter had been born.

"My husband called him," Mitchell said. "He didn't believe him."