Taree woman Bertina Perry says she did not know she was pregnant before shock birth at Manning Base Hospital

A Mid-North Coast woman says she was sent home from hospital, given laxatives and got the biggest shock of her life when she returned in pain the next day. Here’s what happened.

A Taree woman says she was sent home from Manning Base Hospital, given laxatives and returned the next day in pain to get the shock of her life when she realised she was having a baby.

For Bertina Perry it was both a surprise and a blessing because she and her longtime partner Toby Weiley always wanted to start a family, but were waiting to save up for a house first.

Ms Perry had been at working all day in the kitchen at the Storm Village nursing home on July 7, where she washes dishes and sets tables.

When she got home that night she felt pains in her stomach and felt like she needed to go to the toilet, but couldn’t.

“I had pain and I hadn’t been to the toilet for a couple of days so I just assumed that I was constipated,” Ms Perry said.

Bertina Perry and her partner Toby Weiley with their surprise package Kobe.

Mr Weiley took his partner to the Manning Base Hospital that night around 10pm.

“When I was finally seen by a doctor at 4am I told them about the pain I was having and that I hadn’t been to the toilet for a couple of days, so they sent me home with some laxatives,” Ms Perry said.

But the pain continued and she returned to the hospital later that day about 9am.

It still did not occur to her she could be pregnant.

“I’d put on a bit of weight but...I just thought I had put on a bit of weight,” Ms Perry said.

She said she was seemingly still getting her periods, but not as heavy as normal.

By noon on July 8 Ms Perry was seen by another doctor.

“He did some checks and I had three more doctors check me as well to find out there was a head and I had no time to think as I was in shock and the doctors told me I had to start pushing,” she said.

“Kobe was born at 2.18pm. We were meant to be at my partner’s brother’s engagement party, but instead we became parents.

“We were both shocked and blessed – Kobe is our little miracle.”

Bertina Perry.

Toby Weiley with Kobe.

Ms Perry said doctors were not that surprised – they said her placenta was positioned so she would not have felt the baby moving.

Little Kobe is now four months old and thriving.

Ms Perry is on maternity leave and Mr Weiley is still enjoying work as a mechanic – saving up to buy that house and provide for his growing family

“I’d like to have a girl next – you know, a ‘pigeon pair’, I think they’re called,” Ms Perry said.

Ms Perry experienced what is commonly referred to in medical circles as a rare cryptic pregnancy, or stealth pregnancy.

The term denied pregnancy has also been used, but most often refers to when a woman does not believe she is pregnant before giving birth.

Cryptic pregnancy is rare and studies estimate it occurs in about one in every 400 or so deliveries in Australia.

The Hunter New England Area Health District was contacted for comment and for more information on the rarity of such births.

The health service stated only records of births are kept, not the specific of deliveries, and that more information could not be given without a “public health reason”.