DIARY OF A BIRTH: Georgia went to the toilet. Then she felt the top of her baby's head.

When Commonwealth Games silver medallist Georgia Inglis went to the bathroom in the early hours of the morning, she wasn't expecting to feel her baby's head crowning. 

"I went to put the catheter in, and I could just feel his head – it was right there!" Georgia recalled.

Yes, she was in hospital and yes, she knew she was in labour.

But having been paralysed from the waist down since childhood, she hadn't experienced the intense labour pains most women describe. She didn't realise she was so far along.

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"I started crying because I just hadn't mentally prepared. And [the midwife] was like, 'Why are you crying?' And I was like, I'm just not ready. Like, I'm not ready for him. And she was like, 'Well, he's coming regardless.'"

In fact, she'd been so relaxed about the labour signs in the days leading up to this moment, that she'd even scheduled interviews for her PhD in Occupational Therapy later that day.

When Georgia realised what was happening and started screaming for help, her partner Mitch ran into the bathroom, completely bewildered by the situation. 

"He was like, 'Well, I'm not really sure what you want me to do, but there are four midwives out there,'" she joked to Mamamia's Diary Of A Birth. 

Listen to Georgia Inglis discuss her birth story here. Post continues below.

Georgia is a celebrated wheelchair basketball player, having channelled her energy into the sport after being introduced to it by friends following an accident.

At the age of 10, she was involved in an incident with a ride-on lawnmower. It left her with a T12 complete spinal cord injury, meaning she has no feeling below the waist.

But rather than letting this define her, Georgia dedicated her life to adapting and thriving in this new reality. She joined the Australian Gliders team in 2013 and competed in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, bringing home a silver medal in Birmingham.

Soon, Georgia met her long-term partner, Mitch Brown, with the couple getting engaged during a romantic sunset in Coolangatta in April 2023. Within a few months, they were expanding their family, with 'Baby Brown' due April 2024.

When Mitch Brown proposed to Georgia Inglis. Image: Instagram/@georgiaingliss

Unfortunately, the path to pregnancy wasn't straightforward. After experiencing a miscarriage years earlier, Georgia and Mitch were trying for a while. 

When it finally happened, she admits, "It didn't feel real for so long." 

Despite admitting to being "very cruisy" about the pregnancy, like many expectant mothers living with a disability, she found herself searching for specialists who had experience with spinal cord injuries.

One conversation with an OBGYN early in her pregnancy proved particularly prophetic. "She was like, 'You'd be amazed at what your body can do. It will just take over and give birth,'" Georgia remembers. 

"I've experienced quadriplegics, and they've done nothing, and they're able to give birth naturally."

Baby Brown due April 2024. Image: Instagram/@georgiaingliss 

The pregnancy itself came with unique challenges, particularly around Georgia's kidney function. Using a catheter made her vulnerable to infections, which became more serious during pregnancy. 

"I experienced a lot of UTIs and there were times when it went so quickly up into my kidneys — I'm talking within the day," she explains. "That pain was something I cannot explain. It was a pain I've never experienced in my entire life."

Despite planning for an induced birth, Baby Brown had other ideas.

Georgia woke at 2am with what she thought was just another bout of pregnancy insomnia. Even when her 'waters broke', it wasn't a lot of fluid, and she dismissed it, saying, "I just thought I'd peed myself." 

She waited three and a half hours before waking her partner Mitch, wanting to make sure he got as much sleep as possible. 

"My belly was starting to tighten. But again, it wasn't what I pictured contractions to be like. And I'm sure that I couldn't feel what was going on in my body," she said. 

"It was like 'on the surface' contractions…I called the hospital and they're like, 'Okay, bring your bag in.'"

Georgia rushed around the house packing her bag, finally waking Mitch just before his 5.30am alarm. 

"He's like, 'Why did you not wake me? Like, what was wrong with you, Georgia?' And I was like, 'I just thought I'd let you sleep.'"

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Georgia was still remarkably calm – until the midwife performed an examination. 

"I asked her 'Well, am I in labour?' and she calmly said to me, 'Yes, you're about nine centimetres dilated.'" 

The news triggered tears. 

"I started crying because I just hadn't mentally prepared. I was like, 'I'm just not ready!' And she was like, 'Well, he's coming regardless.'"

What followed was a scene straight out of a movie.

Georgia went to the bathroom, only to feel her baby's head crowning.

"[The midwives] were like, 'Okay, maybe it's good to go empty your bladder before you start pushing,'" she recalls.

"I've gone to put a catheter in, I could just feel his head — it was right there."

Mitch rushed Georgia back into the delivery room.

As Georgia was transferred onto the bed, her remaining waters broke spectacularly. "It just sprayed everywhere, all over Mitch!" she laughs. 

Despite not being able to feel the pushing sensation, Georgia delivered Baby Brown — who would be given the name Austin — after just 27 minutes.

Georgia and Mitch with their baby, Austin. Image: Supplied. 

"I didn't know whether I was pushing," she recalls. "I was like, 'I don't feel like I'm doing anything,' but the midwife kept reassuring me, 'Trust me, when you push, something's happening.'"

Austin was finally born, taking his first big breath in the world. However, at first, Georgia wasn't feeling very well.

"They brought him up onto me, and I was like, 'What is going on?' I felt sick afterwards, so my partner had to take him and do the skin to skin, and I was just recovering for I think, like two hours."

Immediately after birth and in the weeks following, Georgia experienced some postpartum anxiety alongside her overwhelming joy. 

"Having had my injury when I was younger, it was like a bit of trauma – I just wanted to protect him," she reflects.

"I was very, very stressed the first few days, if not months, just because I guess anything could happen, like it did with me."

Today, Georgia marvels at how both she and Austin have adapted to their unique circumstances.

"That's probably been the most amazing thing to experience," she says. "Austin is just so chilled and so happy. They adapt with you – your baby adapts with you.

She added, "I was actually talking to a friend about this, who's a quadriplegic. He was saying how his kids know when to muck around and misbehave with one parent and not with the other one.

"And that's a really cool thing about it."

Feature image: Supplied.