Christmas Baby Delivered on Birthing Center Porch

December 27, 2009 by Cathy Ribble
Filed under: News

Photos by STEWART F. HOUSE. Katherine Clayton holds her newborn daughter, Harmony.

Katherine and Scott Clayton celebrated Christmas by delivering baby girl Harmony at 8 pound, 8.5 ounces, at 8:08 p.m. on the wooden porch at the Allen Birthing Center.

The family was gathered at Katherine’s parents’ home in Allen, Texas, for an early evening dinner. The dessert course brought something very special!!

The Claytons had decided months earlier that they wanted to have this baby using natural childbirth methods. Katherine talked to her midwife several times throughout the day on Friday. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy, but was convinced that some pains she was having were not contractions. No one thought that a delivery was imminent.

Scott Clayton described the labor progression, “Katherine went from zero to birth like in the middle of the pumpkin pie.”

Katherine, a 28-year-old Wylie homemaker, thought it would be another day or two before her baby was born. When the pains began picking up in intensity and frequency, the couple moved to another room.

Scott began timing her contractions as they realized their delivery was not going to be a “textbook” case. They called the midwife and made arrangements to meet her at a nearby birthing center.

Katherine donned the new bathrobe she had just opened as a Christmas present, and then the entire family — both sets of in-laws included — set out for the birthing center. When they arrived, the midwife had not yet arrived. The birthing center was dark and locked.

As Scott pounded on the door and rang the doorbell, Katherine’s mother-in-law helped lower her to the ground. The contractions were getting more serious at this point.

Julie Webber, a doula who provides non-medical support during labor, arrived about that time. “I got there and everybody was so clam,” she said, “But then I relized they were calm because they didn’t fully see what was going on — the baby was coming any minute.”

The couple’s nurse-midwife, Kathleen Mayorga, then arrived. It was too late to take Katherine into the center, and it was determined that the baby was going to be delivered on the porch.

As Katherine was screaming with her contractions, someone opened the door to the center. The burglar alarm went off, but the keyboard jammed so they couldn’t turn off the alarm. Finally someone closed the door so the alarm was not so loud.

The birthing center’s other employees arrived and Katherine and Harmony were taken inside for testing and further attention. Mom and baby were doing fine, and within a few hours, the entire clan was sent home.