This Woman Gave Birth Alone in a Hotel Bathroom, and Her Story Will Leave You Slack-Jawed

Childbirth is pretty crazy under any circumstances — delivering a whole new human into the world is an insanely cool feat. But new mom Tia Freeman's birth story takes things a step above the rest! When the 22-year-old casually tweeted the tale of delivering her firstborn son, alone, in a foreign hotel bathroom, she claimed not to grasp "what's so shocking" about the entire situation . . . but the internet (and the international press!) couldn't believe the details of the birth.

Tia, a member of the US Air Force, was able to keep a cool head when, on the first leg of a vacation from the States to Germany, she started experiencing painful "cramps." When she landed in Istanbul, Turkey, for an overnight layover, Tia described in a series of viral tweets, she googled and realized that she was likely in labor! What happened next is an absolutely wild ride; from a DIY bathtub water birth to makeshift shoestring "clamps" for cutting the umbilical cord, her story is absolutely a must read. While we certainly wouldn't recommend Tia's unorthodox birthing method if you have a choice, it's a pretty incredible testament to this new mom's willpower and inventive thinking.

Read some of the story ahead, then read her birth story in full on Twitter. It's definitely one of the craziest childbirth tales you'll ever hear!