Shayanna Markham was having contractions and was 5 cm dilated when she was examined at the hospital.
The doctor gave her a choice: Be admitted to the hospital knowing it might take hours or days until the baby comes, walk around the neighborhod to encourage dilation (which might increase labor), or labor at home for a while.
Shayanna says she felt pressured to go home. Just 30 minutes after arriving, she gave birth.
"I was in shock," Markham, 27, of Vacaville, California, tells TODAY.com.
Markham's sister Surena shared a June TikTok video of the experience, partially captured on home security footage.
“When your sister is 5 centimeters dilated and they send her home and she has the baby at home 30 minutes later,” read the caption on the video with 14 million views.
A pregnant Shayanna and her husband Anthony can be seen returning from the hospital; soon after, EMS workers enter the home and transport the mother and newborn back to the hospital.
Shayanna recalls waking up on June 4 with contractions. “I was only 37 weeks pregnant, so I was scared,” she says.
Shayanna and Anthony dropped off their 3-year-old daughter Mariska at a relative’s home, then drove to the hospital, Vacaville Kaiser.
“The nurses checked my contractions which were 7 to 9 minutes apart and lasted more than a minute,” says Shayanna.
According to Kaiser Permanente, patients delivering their first baby should come to the hospital when contractions occur every 3 to 5 minutes over the course of an hour and last between 45 and 60 seconds; patients delivering subsequent babies should come when contractions occur every 5 to 7 minutes and last between 45 and 60 seconds.
According to Shayanna, her cervix was 5 centimeters dilated at the hospital. Kaiser notes that when the cervix reaches 10 centimeters, it’s time to start pushing.
“The doctor assured me that if we left, there would still be time to get an epidural,” she says. “She took off the monitors and said I could get dressed. I felt pressured (to leave).”
According to Jennifer Meyers, a certified nurse-midwife at the Mayo Clinic Health System, determining whether someone is in labor can be tricky.
"Generally, we look at two major pieces of information," Meyers tells TODAY.com. "The frequency and intensity of contractions and cervical dilation. We usually tell people to get a labor check when they are contracting within that 3 to 5 minute period and if they're getting uncomfortable."
"I might see a patient who is 38 weeks pregnant who is 4 centimeters dilated but not contracting and therefore might not admit her," she says. "Another patient might be 4 centimeters dilated but contracting every two minutes and is in pain. That might tell me that she's in labor."
About 15 minutes after arriving home, Shayanna was in more pain and wanted to return to the hospital. While Anthony loaded up the truck, Shayanna used the bathroom.
As Shayanna stood up from the toilet, she reached below and felt her daughter’s head. The mom prepared to give birth by laying a towel on the floor and squatting over it.
“There was no stopping her from coming out,” says Shayanna. “I got really quiet — there was no screaming. I pushed and then caught my daughter.”
When Anthony walked back into the bathroom with 911 on the phone, Shayanna was holding their daughter Harper.
Emergency responders transported the mother and daughter back to Vacaville Kaiser.
A Kaiser spokesperson tells TODAY.com in an email statement:
“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 recognize 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 apologize, listen and respond,” said the spokesperson. “Our physicians or certified midwives screen patients when they arrive based on multiple medical criteria and, on a case-by-case basis, determine if a laboring woman is ready to begin her stay with us. If a patient is reluctant to return home, we offer them to stay and be re-evaluated in a specific time frame. We do encourage laboring moms to walk as a standard practice to help labor along, unless prohibited by a medical condition.”
Shayanna remembers the kindness of the paramedics, particularly Will Parker. "He's really sweet," says Shayanna.
Parker tells TODAY.com that responding to the call was a "once or twice career thing."
"I got to swaddle Harper — I hadn't done that since my own kids were babies," he says. "It was a dose of dopamine for me to hold a newborn."
Parker's relationship with Harper didn't end there; the Markhams are his neighbors and Parker has visited the family a few times. During one visit, he even got a manicure from Harper's sister Mariska, who painted his fingernails in a rainbow of colors, earning him the title "Uncle Will."
One day after Harper was released from the NICU, she went home with her family.
"It's bittersweet," says Shayanna. "I am frustrated that the birth happened this way but I am happy that my daughter is OK. It could have been worse."