Rachel was told she would never be a mum and didn’t know she was pregnant until baby arrived

A Brisbane woman had no idea she was pregnant until the day she turned up to the emergency department with “gall bladder pain”.

Rachel O'Donnell, with four-week-old Xavier, had no idea she was pregnant until she turned up at the emergency department at RBWH. Picture: Tara Croser

A 43-year-old Brisbane woman had no idea she was pregnant until the day she turned up to the emergency department with “gall bladder pain” which turned out to be full-blown labour.

Rachel O’Donnell had been told by doctors for years that she couldn’t have the baby she yearned for due to a serious case of polycystic ovary syndrome. She even bought a “fur baby” to fill the hole in her heart.

“I went through a few tests at the ED and when the nurse at the RBWH showed me a pregnancy stick with two stripes on it I insisted it was a mistake,” she said.

“I said I can’t have babies.

“It was only when I was wired up to a monitor and heard a little heartbeat did I realise that I was growing a little human inside me for months and had no idea.

“I was gobsmacked but after the shock of it all I realise it was a miracle.”

On April 29 baby Xavier was born prematurely by C-section at the RBWH. The little fighter had to be resuscitated for 15 minutes after delivery.

Rachel O'Donnell with four-week-old Xavier. Picture: Tara Croser

Ms O’Donnell told The Sunday Mail that she felt no movement during her pregnancy and while she had put a little weight on she had no baby bump and just assumed the extra kilos were from lifestyle choices.

“I have always had an unpredictable menstrual cycle due to POCS so there was not one thing that flagged pregnancy,” the first time mum said.

The child care worker started to have pains on Thursday afternoon and had googled her symptoms. She assumed she had a gall bladder problem or an ovarian cyst that had burst.

“I called an ambulance and told my partner Jason I would text him to come and pick me up after I got some painkillers,” Ms O’Donnell said.

“Imagine his surprise when he was at the shops getting groceries and a nurse from maternity called him to say I was having a baby and in labour.

Rachel O'Donnell, with four-week-old Xavier and partner Jason Kilah, had no idea she was pregnant until she turned up at the emergency department at RBWH. Pic Tara Croser.

“Xavier had arrived before he even got there.”

Baby Xavier is believed to have been born around 30 weeks gestation. He was in the breech position and had been in the uterus for more than 60 hours without being wrapped in the gestational sac. Both mum ended up with an infection.

“It is like Xavier was meant to be here. He fought through so much. He was born with Down syndrome but when he was tested he didn’t show any of the health issues usually associated with the syndrome. He is putting on weight and thriving,” the new mum said.

Ms Donnell says she will be forever grateful to the RBWH especially when she was selected to be the 100th patient to take part in the hospital’s NeoHOME program where mothers, with clinical assistance, can look after their premature babies in their own home rather than have to travel back and forward to the hospital neonatal ward. The scheme was launched in October last year.

“The day I was told Xavier could be cared for at home I had been crying as I didn’t want to leave him in the neonatal unit. I was a little afraid as it all happened so quick and I was suddenly looking after a fragile premature baby. But nurses check up on us regularly and check his feeding and make sure he is thriving. It is amazing.”

RBWH director of neonatology Pieter Koorts said innovation was at the heart of clinical practice in the hospital’s Grantley Stable Neonatology Unit.

“The neonatology team are always looking for ways to improve the experience of having a baby in hospital for families,” Dr Koorts said.

“We understand how difficult it can be, so allowing babies to go home two to three weeks earlier via the NeoHOME service can make a world of difference.”