Francesca unexpectedly went into intense labour at the family home. So her dad stepped in.

For first-time mothers, medical professionals typically advise preparing for a lengthy labour. But model, presenter, and actor Francesca Hung discovered that nature sometimes has other plans when her daughter arrived in a dramatic three-hour whirlwind — complete with her radiologist father breaking her waters on their front doorstep.

In a revealing conversation with Ksenija Lukich on Mamamia's Diary of a Birth podcast, Francesca shared the unexpected and intense experience of delivering her daughter Brydie (affectionately nicknamed "Birdie") on Christmas morning, weeks before her due date.

Francesca had always known that she wanted to have children, but for years, it felt "too soon".

When she finally fell pregnant with Brydie, she still didn't feel "really ready" but at the same time, things felt "right". Her pregnancy continued as normal, and the couple prepared to welcome their little girl into the world.

First, listen to Francesca Hung on Diary of a Birth. Post continues below.

The shocking Christmas morning surprise.

Francesca and her husband Nick had meticulously planned for their January 8 due date. After moving into her parents' home for postpartum support, the couple had only just assembled the nursery furniture on Christmas Eve.

With no warning signs of impending labour, they attended a Christmas Eve celebration, where Francesca remembers joking about having a 'Christmas baby'. Soon, the joke became reality.

"I woke up at about 2:30am on Christmas morning, and I stumbled to the bathroom, just thinking I needed to go to the toilet," Francesca explained. Initially dismissing her discomfort as Braxton Hicks contractions, she quickly realised something more significant was happening.

"I lay in bed for another 15, 20 minutes, and I was like, 'No, this is… I think I'm in labour. I think these are contractions. Oh, my God'," she said.

What followed defied all expectations for a first birth. For example, Queensland Health's guidelines show that most first-time mothers labour for 10–14 hours, just in the first stage, followed by one to two hours of pushing.

But for Francesca, within minutes her contractions intensified dramatically.

"Every contraction I was like on all fours, on the ground, bearing down. I remember looking at my dog at one point, and she was just staring at me, and I was staring at her, and I was thinking, 'What is going on? This is so painful'," Francesca said.

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Despite being told by hospital staff that she likely had hours ahead of her, Francesca's body was already in active labour.

"I was starting to get a little bit panicked at this point. I hadn't really felt her kick this whole time, and I'm used to her being quite active. Also, my waters hadn't broken. I hadn't lost my mucus plug. So, none of the things you were told to expect at the early stages of labour [happened]," she said. "And I just thought this was happening way too quickly. This isn't meant to happen like this."

Francesca remembers one contraction that was unbelievably painful.

"I looked down and there was blood in the bath," she recalled. "I just had this insane urge to push ... I thought maybe my vagina was coming out of me, and I could feel this soft, warm, wet thing coming out.

"We didn't know what the hell was going on."

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From bathroom floor to family doorstep.

As the situation escalated, Francesca's instincts took over in a scene she can now laugh about, but was terrifying in the moment.

"I just started sprinting up the stairs like something out of a horror film. I'm on my hands and my feet, like running up the stairs like an animal screaming, 'Help! Help! The baby's coming'," Francesca said. "I was petrified at this point."

Meanwhile, her mum and dad, who were fast asleep, woke to Francesca's "blood-curdling screams".

"They thought something was happening with the neighbours, and they ran to the balcony, and they were like, 'No, that's coming from inside the house'."

"I ran straight past her, opened the front door, and then hit the decks and was on all fours having another contraction outside the front of the house."

Initially, Francesca was nervous about doctors seeing her naked during birth in the hospital, but at this point, she no longer cared. Luckily, she was still inside the family's front gate, so she wasn't quite fully-naked to the whole street.

What happened next created an unexpected family bonding moment when her father, a radiologist, examined her on all fours at their front entrance. He discovered her amniotic sac bulging, which soon broke under his examination — a surreal Christmas morning development neither had anticipated.

Francesca and little Brydie. Image: Supplied.

The race to the hospital.

The journey to the hospital became its own adventure, with Francesca straddling the car seat as her waters continued to break with each contraction. Arriving at 5:11am to a skeleton Christmas staff, she could barely walk as she felt her baby's head beginning to emerge.

"I remember feeling something coming out of me... I was literally having to use my hand to hold, I believe it was her head," Hung shares about those crucial moments.

Three women were in simultaneous labour with only two midwives dashing between them. But the incredible staff made it work, and the midwives confirmed Francesca's baby was not in distress.

Just 10 minutes after arriving, at 5:21am, Brydie was born in just three pushes, completing a birth that totalled less than three hours.

"From when I felt the first contraction, it was under three hours from when I gave birth," Francesca said. "I would have had a home birth if we hadn't left when we had left, or if I hadn't actually held her in while I was in the car."

Little Brydie was their Christmas miracle. Image: Supplied.

Physical recovery and emotional processing.

Despite the speed and intensity of her birth, Francesca was fortunate to have minimal physical damage, sustaining only a labial tear.

"One of the midwives said afterwards, 'Well, I think you're just a natural born birther,'" she recalled.

The emotional recovery, however, presented greater challenges. The shock of the experience left her unable to feel the immediate connection many mothers describe.

"I never felt what people kept saying, 'Oh my gosh, when they put the baby on your chest, it's euphoric.' I did not feel that at all. It actually took me a couple of weeks to feel that," Francesca admitted. "The first 24 hours in hospital, I couldn't sleep, because every time I closed my eyes, I was transported back home to the pain and the fear."

Francesca and Nick with little Brydie on a day out. Image: Supplied.

While she can now appreciate having what some might consider a "dream birth" in terms of speed and minimal complications, the experience left an emotional mark that took time to process.

What began as a quiet Christmas morning soon became an unforgettable family story, complete with cancelled holiday plans, replaced by hospital visitors meeting the newest family member. Brydie was the ultimate Christmas gift that arrived with dramatic flair.

"We had both of our families come in on Christmas Day and meet her. So it was the most special Christmas day ever," Francesca said.

For more incredible Diary of a Birth stories, head here.

Keep up with Francesca, here.

Feature image: Supplied.