Christmas Babies: From Induction to Emergency C-Section – What It's Like to Give Birth at Christmas

It's the most wonderful time of the year, but is it the the most wonderful time to have a baby? The prospect of Christmas babies is often met with a mix of excitement and trepidation. And questions. Lots of questions. Like, what's it actually like to give birth on Christmas Day? Is maternity care the same over the holidays? Does Santa visit postnatal wards? Will I get my Christmas dinner? 

If you're fast approaching your own Christmas due date, read on. We've spoken to three mums to find out what it's really like to give birth at Christmas. 

Mum-of-two Jessie gave birth to daughter Aurora on Christmas Day 2023. 

When I realised my due date was around Christmas time, I was absolutely gutted. We’d held off trying because I didn't want a baby over Christmas and then fallen pregnant very quickly. Our planning must have been off! My due date was actually New Year's Eve, which would be quite a cool birthday – there would always be a party – but I thought she was going to be late, because my first had been. 

I'd said the whole way through whenever someone asked when the baby was due: "New Year’s Eve. It'll be fine as long as it’s not Christmas." I wonder if I jinxed it!

Since finishing work on the 15th, we’d been doing non-stop jobs, maxing out nursery hours and time off. Christmas Eve was the first time I’d sat down, relaxed and put my feet up. I was so excited to have a week of Christmas telly and festive food, thinking that after that I’d be ready for the baby to arrive. But she had her own plan.

My mum and dad were staying with us on Christmas Eve. At 11pm I went to bed, excited for Christmas, and slept for a little bit. I woke up at about 1:30am and felt a bit weird. My husband was sleeping with our toddler, but I called him in and said I needed a hot water bottle. I was in denial that I was going into labour. I think it was about 3am when I started tracking surges and really thought: this is happening. Then, everything went from 0 to 100 really quickly. 

I had to crawl down the stairs to the car. On my way out of the house I asked my mum to move all the presents out from under the tree so we could do Christmas the following day instead! I didn't want to miss Christmas morning with my toddler.

Luckily, there was no one on the road at 4am on Christmas morning. I was wheeled into hospital, keeping my eyes closed until I was in the a birth suite. There was no time for the birthing pool, for music or lights. She was born at 4.50am. It was so focussed and so fast.

We called her Aurora. We used to live in Northern Scotland and one of the things we would do, before children, was jump in the van in the evenings and go and spot the Northern Lights. She arrived and it just felt like her name.

When we moved onto the postnatal ward there was Christmas music and decorations. Someone came round and took a picture of Aurora for the local paper. Later, we Facetimed a few people. They thought we were calling to say Merry Christmas and were surprised when we said: "Here’s the baby!"

We were discharged and home by 4pm on Christmas Day. We had NHS Christmas lunch and then were home for a Christmas dinner in the evening. Then we did the whole thing again on Boxing Day! Because my son was only two, he didn’t really understand, so we could just 'do Christmas' on Boxing Day. We were all a bit dazed and confused. I didn't do anything to help - I just sat on the sofa!

Having my baby at Christmas actually made my experience on the maternity ward better. There were plenty of staff around and fewer patients, so I didn’t worry about not having anyone there to take care of me or my baby.

The postnatal checks, however, were really challenging. When we lived in Scotland and had our first baby, the midwives came to visit us at home. But now that we live in Wales, they expected us to get in the car and go to the clinic on Boxing Day. I told them I wasn’t going.

Once we were home, it was harder to say no to visitors because of the time of year. So many people wanted to come by since they were off work, and Christmas is a time for seeing family and friends. But I was very clear—no one was coming around. I stayed in my postnatal bubble for a solid six or seven weeks.

The hardest thing about having a baby at Christmas is the people who say ‘Oh, poor thing’ or ‘That’s awful’ when I tell them. They don’t really think about the fact that we didn’t choose a Christmas birthday for her. It's a bit like when you’re pregnant and people give you horror birth stories. There’s no filter.

My advice to mums with Christmas due dates would be to not let any negative comments get you down. Initially, I felt like I’d done something bad by having her on Christmas Day. But if it’s meant to be, it will be. Your baby will be special whatever day they are born - maybe extra special if they are born on Christmas Day. Also, Aurora was one of five babies born on Christmas Day at our hospital, so you’re not the only one, even though it feels unusual.

My toddler has asked if there will be another baby arriving on Christmas Day this year! For her first birthday, we are going to do Christmas dinner and then birthday cake. When she’s a bit older, we’ll likely celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and then her birthday on December 25th. Or we might mark her half birthday instead in the summer and she can celebrate with her brother as he has a mid-June birthday.

Having a Christmas baby gives you an opportunity to think outside the box and find your own different traditions. This year I’ll enjoy all the build up to Christmas, and then maybe by the time the day has arrived we’ll be ready for something a bit different.

Mum-of-one Sarah gave birth to her daughter Daisy on Christmas Day 2016.

I never thought I’d have a Christmas baby. I was due on December 31st, and I thought that would be a great birthday.

I’d planned to have a quiet Christmas. My parents were going to join us, but they’d insisted on bringing their own food. My husband usually does the cooking, but they didn’t want to rely on us in case the baby made an early appearance!

I have fibroids, so throughout my pregnancy, I was told the birth would need to be medically led on the labour ward. I had extra scans and was prepared for the possibility of a c-section, although a vaginal birth wasn’t completely ruled out.

A week before Christmas, after experiencing reduced movements, it was decided to induce me early.

After having an epidural and being confined to bed during a long labour, I ended up having a c-section.

As it turned out, we spent Christmas Day on the postnatal ward. It was really busy. Daisy was born at 6:10 a.m., and she was already the seventh Christmas Day baby and the sixth c-section of the day! I was surprised by how many Christmas babies there were—it felt quite unusual.

Despite the busyness, the labour and postnatal wards were lovely over Christmas, but it was all a bit surreal. They made an effort to be festive: the midwives sang Christmas carols, and my anaesthetist in theatre wore a funky hat with Christmas lights on it. She was also born on Christmas Day and was working on her birthday!

In the morning, just after Daisy was born, the consultant obstetrician came around dressed as Santa, handing out presents for the babies—little hats and baby clothes. I remember thinking, ‘What’s going on?!’

I really wanted to breastfeed Daisy and kept trying, but she wasn’t latching. Four days after her birth, it was suggested I move to a local birthing centre for more breastfeeding support. But I was desperate, stressed, and exhausted. The centre felt understaffed over the Christmas period, so on New Year’s Day, I decided to go home.

We finally had a mini Christmas on January 7th, when we made our Christmas dinner. I wasn’t eating much at the time, and it took me two days to actually finish my Christmas lunch. There are photos of me looking totally spaced out, holding Daisy and trying to unwrap presents!

I found January with a newborn harder than having her over Christmas. It’s such a low time of year. I was still trying to express milk and figure out feeding, and when my husband went back to work, I felt really lonely. It was so cold and dark.

Now, I think Daisy’s Christmas birthday is great. We do a half-birthday celebration in June, like a family day out. She’s even trying to convince us to celebrate a ¾ birthday now!

On December 25th, we do Christmas in the morning and then celebrate her birthday after lunch. My parents usually visit on Boxing Day, so she gets two days of celebrations. We also throw her birthday party on the first weekend of January, when people are more available. She ends up with plenty of celebrations and presents spread out, and she loves it. Daisy feels special having a Christmas Day birthday, and she never has to go to school on her birthday like her friends do.

My only advice for mums about to give birth over Christmas is to check the food situation. 

When I had Daisy, there were no cooked meals on Christmas Day—I was just given a chicken and sweetcorn sandwich! I’d definitely recommend bringing extra snacks and Christmas treats with you

Emily, gave birth Christmas 2022.

We were planning to keep Christmas very low-key that year since I would have been 39 weeks on Christmas Day. But then, on December 20th, I went into labour spontaneously. I was admitted to the hospital overnight and ultimately had an emergency c-section on the 21st because my baby’s heart rate kept spiking.

I didn’t really think about it being Christmas when Amelia was born. The midwives had tinsel on their uniforms, which added a festive touch to the hospital, but I was so immersed in my own bubble. Everything had changed, and I wasn’t thinking about normal life going on outside at all.

After a few days, we were discharged from the hospital. It was late on Christmas Eve when we finally got home, which felt surreal. Our first full day at home with our baby was Christmas Day. Everything felt so new and strange. My mum and dad came over, and we had a meal together, but it was a bit chaotic. It wasn’t a normal Christmas at all, but it was still nice to be together as a family.

Christmas itself felt very secondary to having a new baby. The health visitor even came round on Christmas Day, which really impressed me. I’d been a bit worried that the December bank holidays might affect our care, but we had a lot of support during those first few days.

The bank holidays did impact small things, though. For example, when I ordered a breast pump, it took much longer to arrive than it would have at another time of year.

A lot of friends were already away with their own families over Christmas and a lot of our own family were also away, which meant we didn’t really have visitors until the end of January. We were also able to stretch out my husband’s paternity leave thanks to the extra bank holidays you get over Christmas, so he could take a little bit more time off, which was really helpful.

I was apprehensive when I fell pregnant and realised we could have our baby on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but ultimately I knew I couldn’t control it. I actually really enjoyed having a winter baby in the end. I’m pregnant now, with another December due date, and I'm looking forward to having another winter baby. It’s actually such a nice time of year to be able to hunker down and hibernate in that newborn bubble. You don’t really feel like you’re missing out on as much during those first 12 weeks as you might with a summer baby, because everyone is cosy and inside anyway. I enjoyed that part of it. When summer came around Amelia was six months old and we were both ready to do and get out more. It worked out better than I expected. 

Amelia didn’t get any Christmas presents her first year, though people gave her new baby gifts when they met her in January. I don’t feel the need or pressure to do Christmas gifts for babies that tiny.

For Amelia’s first birthday, we had a little afternoon tea party with close family. Birthday celebrations might get trickier as she gets older, with her birthday being so close to Christmas. It might be hard to find a time when everyone is free. I think we’ll keep things low-key and maybe celebrate at another time as well, to make it feel separate from Christmas.

There’s something magical about having a baby at Christmastime. It’s already a special time of year, and having a baby brings even more joy. It’s one of those big life changes, and things will be different no matter when they’re born, but there’s something lovely about it happening during Christmas when everyone’s in such a good mood. You bring a bit of extra joy to your family with a new baby.