Mom gives birth to baby in toilet at California hospital

LOMITA, Calif. -- A woman in labor at a Torrance hospital got the green light to use the restroom and accidentally gave birth in the toilet! Mom and baby are just fine, and the parents shared their story with Eyewitness News.

Tiny Tessa Whalen has a big tale to tell about her dramatic arrival into the world.

"Her little face was just there outside of the water, and I can just see her balled up still, very safe," recalled Andrea Whalen, Tessa's mother.

"Most traumatic thing that I could ever imagine, but it's all worth it in the end. So you get to hold your baby girl - from the toilet or not the toilet - she's healthy, she's clean, beautiful, and that's all that matters," said Joshua Whalen, Tessa's father.

Yes, the toilet! This precious newborn's sudden arrival was a shocking surprise for her parents.

The Whalens had rushed to Torrance Memorial Medical Center around 3 a.m. Monday as Andrea went into labor with her third child.

As they waited for her natural delivery to progress, Joshua helped his wife get up to go to the bathroom.

"It all happened very fast. My water broke, the pressure got worse and worse and worse and worse, and I wasn't intending on pushing or anything, everything just came out, and I turned around and there she was in the toilet," Andrea described.

"All of a sudden, she's grabbing on to me there's water, blood going everywhere, next thing you know, baby's in the toilet," Joshua described.

Joshua grabbed the baby from the water as doctors and nurses rushed in to help.

The couple can laugh about now, but it was a terrifying moment.

They now know that their 8-pound-3-ounce bundle of joy is healthy and happy and will grow up knowing she made a splash the moment she arrived.

"I think it was the craziest experience of my life with the best benefit," Joshua said.

"You read about it, you don't experience this, so it was crazy," Andrea said.