A first-time mum gave birth at her own baby shower - with her best friends acting as emergency midwives.
When Anna Smith started to feel a few stomach cramps at the party, she dismissed it as nothing important.
Her baby was not due for another two weeks, so she thought it was nothing more than a tummy bug or a twinge.
Anna and her husband Aly's home was filled with balloons and food for guests, who had started to arrive for the baby shower. Everything was in place for the perfect day.
But within moments, the party was long forgotten as Anna headed upstairs to give birth.
Anna's friends – her bridesmaids Vicky Hook and Helen Rimmer and her brother's partner Emma Booth – acted as midwives for little Martha's birth.
None of them work in healthcare, but they all remained calm and kept Anna in positive spirits as Martha was brought into the world.
"I don't really remember much of it, but I remember Emma saying 'oh, this baby is going to come'," said Anna, 33, whose husband Aly, 38, made it home from work in time to see Martha being born.
"Then I did a few pushes and the baby was there.
"I was shocked at how quick it all was –it was all very surreal. Vicky and Helen have been friends for years and we've been through so much together.
"First they were my bridesmaids and then they were my midwives!"
The baby shower was taking place at Anna and Aly's home in Hedon on Saturday afternoon. The couple have been married two years.
Emma, 37, who gave birth to her son Max five months ago, used some of her own labour experience to help out.
She said: "I only went round for a cupcake, but I got a lot more than I bargained for.
"I'd recently had Max so I was just telling Anna all the things I remembered from my labour."
Anna had started to feel pains in her stomach, but shrugged it off as her baby was not due until July 27.
But when she had disappeared upstairs for a long time, her friends went to check she was OK.
Anna had first complained of stomach aches at about 2.30pm. Then at about 3.30pm, when her friends went upstairs, she was having contractions every six minutes.
Her friends rang the hospital, who told them to come in when the contractions were three minutes apart. Everyone thought there was ample time to go, as first labours have been known to stretch to more than a day.
Vicky, 33, who works as a media sales advisor, said: "We soon realised the baby was coming and got her from the bathroom and onto the bed.
"Then Martha was born at 4.10pm.
"We'd called 999 but the baby was born before the first responder arrived.
"It was all so quick."
Nervous baby shower guests were waiting downstairs in the lounge, hoping for the ambulance to show up.
They were still expecting to see a paramedic before they heard the cry of a newborn.
When the scream was heard downstairs, all the guests clapped and cheered.
Helen, 33, who lives in Leeds and works as a sales manager for a cider company, said: "I was on the phone to the 999 woman and repeating everything she told me – she was fantastic.
"Then Martha came – it was quite unbelievable.
"It was one of the best moments of my life, but a bit frightening at the same time."
When the first responder arrived a few minutes later, Martha was snuggled up on her mum's chest, surrounded by her family.
Anna's mum was then invited to cut the umbilical cord.
Mum and baby were taken by ambulance to the Women and Children's Hospital at Hull Royal Infirmary, where they stayed until Monday afternoon.
Yesterday, the family returned home to Hedon and were reunited with their three make-shift midwives.
Anna said: "When I'd first started having stomach pains, a few of us were joking saying 'oh, haha, what if the baby came today?'
"But I never thought in a million years it would come true."
Aly and Anna had decided not to find out what sex their baby was, as they wanted it to be a surprise.
Helen said: "We thought Martha would be a bit bruised, like newborns are, but there isn't a mark on her – she's gorgeous.
"She'll be a very special girl to all of us, that's for sure.
"And she is clearly just like her mum – she didn't want to miss the party."
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