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Woman didn’t know she was pregnant until she was in labour

Sally Smith had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth in a hospital car park. This selfie shows exactly how the size 10 woman missed it.

Sally Smith, 23, from the UK, said she had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth after working a shift at a nightclub. Picture: Kennedy News
Sally Smith, 23, from the UK, said she had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth after working a shift at a nightclub. Picture: Kennedy News

A woman has revealed how she gave birth after working a shift at a nightclub, but had no idea she was expecting a baby.

Sally Smith, 23, from the UK, is now mum to one-year-old son Gabriel, known as Gabe, but only found out she was pregnant when she went into labour.

Describing giving birth as the “most surreal experience”, Sally explained that she hadn’t felt like anything was “out of the ordinary” as she was using contraception and was still having periods while pregnant.

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Sally Smith, 23, from the UK, said she had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth after working a shift at a nightclub. Picture: Kennedy News
Sally Smith, 23, from the UK, said she had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth after working a shift at a nightclub. Picture: Kennedy News
Sally woke up with intense stomach cramps only to be told she was having a baby. Picture: Kennedy News
Sally woke up with intense stomach cramps only to be told she was having a baby. Picture: Kennedy News

No bump in sight, Sally says she didn’t put on any weight and stayed a size 10 the whole time, during which she continued to drink on nights out and partied at five different festivals including Parklife and Glastonbury.

Her friends had joked that she was pregnant after Sally would get sick after having a drink at work, but without any telltale signs, she simply brushed off the idea.

“If I had a drink after work I was always sick and people would joke that I was pregnant and I’d be like ‘if I was pregnant, I’d be eight months pregnant now’ — that was kind of the running joke at work for a while,” she admitted.

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She said she had no signs she was pregnant and even remained a size 10. Picture: Kennedy News
She said she had no signs she was pregnant and even remained a size 10. Picture: Kennedy News

Sally says she had “really bad back pain” when she would have been seven to eight months pregnant, but again passed it off as just an ache from moving heavy deliveries at work.

“Everything had an answer for — there was nothing out of the ordinary,” she insists, adding that it was when she was seen by a paramedic, who could see the baby’s head, that she realised she was about to become a mum.

In March last year, Sally had been working and fell asleep after her shift, but woke up with what she thought was intense stomach cramps.

She also admits she boozed on nights out the whole time. Picture: Kennedy News
She also admits she boozed on nights out the whole time. Picture: Kennedy News

Phoning her sister for advice, Sally then got into the bath and that’s when she thinks her waters must have broken.

Paramedics arrived at her home to take her to hospital, with the mum recalling: “[The paramedic] walked in and I was lying on the floor and she said ‘well, we can see a head, you’re definitely having a baby’.

“That’s when I was kind of like ‘OK’ … we got in the ambulance and we could already see his head and as we were pulling up to the hospital, that’s where I gave birth.”

She welcomed son Gabe in March 2020 just before lockdown hit. Picture: Kennedy News
She welcomed son Gabe in March 2020 just before lockdown hit. Picture: Kennedy News
While she freaked out at first at news she was in labour, Sally says she loves being a mum. Picture: Kennedy News
While she freaked out at first at news she was in labour, Sally says she loves being a mum. Picture: Kennedy News

At first, she remembers freaking out over becoming a mum, but says any doubts or concerns she had soon vanished when she held her son for the first time.

Sally, who finished uni months before giving birth, says: “When I was giving birth I remember thinking ‘well I can’t have a baby, I’m 23, I’ve just been promoted so how am I meant to look after a baby when I work such long hours?’

“As soon as they put him on my chest I was alright because he was there and completely fine. “I was just so calm.

“Not to sound corny but I was just completely in love. I was like ‘right I’m fine, I’ll be able to do it because he’s here,’ I was filled with love and totally obsessed with him from the start.”

Shortly after welcoming her son Gabe, Sally says lockdown hit and while her family were super supportive over her new arrival, many of her friends were shocked to hear she’d had a baby.

She said her surprise baby Gabe is the ‘“best thing’ that has ever happened to her. Picture: Kennedy News
She said her surprise baby Gabe is the ‘“best thing’ that has ever happened to her. Picture: Kennedy News

As well as telling her friends, the new mum had to tell her ex-boyfriend, Gabe’s father, that she’d had his baby.

The pair had dated at uni but split in July 2019, eight months prior to Sally giving birth.

Initially she texted him asking for him to ring her and broke the news over the phone, but says her ex was “really supportive”.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gabe’s dad wasn’t able to meet him for the first few months and Sally admits it was difficult having to deal with a newborn.

Pushing through it, she says that having Gabe is the “best thing” that has ever happened to her.

“He’s just the cheekiest little lad in the world and is so funny,” she gushes.

“Just the loveliest little lad, he’s just such a dream.”

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/pregnancy/woman-didnt-know-she-was-pregnant-until-she-was-in-labour/news-story/bd0f159b18200ec19ea7f2fc3a9ddeb9