Moment Gen Z mom in labor realizes midwife isn't arriving in time
A Gen Z mom from Georgia had a shocking realization just minutes before she was about to give birth.
Auna Snyder, 25, had planned a homebirth with her midwife, but she was unaware that she was just minutes away from doing it all without her.
Instead, Snyder, a traditional birth doula, had to talk her husband through how to help her deliver their baby.
"She was on her way but we both didn't realize how fast it would be," Snyder told Newsweek.
She shared her cool and calm instructions to her husband Josh Snyder in a clip on TikTok (@informed_beginnings).
"You don't have to do anything besides handing the baby, like, up through," Snyder said to Josh, explaining how she would be positioned over the birth pool. "Just bring the baby to my chest."
Viewers can hear Josh in the background tentatively asking, "Like, hand the baby this way?"
Snyder explained that she needed Josh to bring the baby underneath her legs, rather than around her body due to the obstruction caused by the umbilical cord.
Planned home births can be safe for healthy pregnancies when attended by a licensed midwife or certified professional with emergency training.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG), home births are safest when: the pregnancy is low-risk, labor begins at term (37-42 weeks), a trained, certified midwife is present and there is a clear emergency plan and access to a hospital transfer if needed.
When she found out that their midwife wasn't going to make it, Snyder told Newsweek that she didn't really react to that information. "I just knew what I had to do and did it!" she added.
The pre-home birth footage has been viewed 1.8 million times on TikTok. The hundreds of users who commented were in awe of Snyder's calm demeanor.
"HOW are you speaking in full sentences at this stage of labor," one user questioned.
"This is amazing, I wish I had the strength to do something like this!" another wrote.
A third commenter wrote, "We'd be pulling up YouTube videos so fast."
"I shared the video to empower moms that they can take control of their birth and they don't necessarily need help," Snyder said.
Snyder was in labor for two hours and 20 minutes. The mom of four told Newsweek that Josh did an "amazing" job.
"He helped me guide the baby up we are all doing well," she said.