A teenager who went into a coma after going to bed with a headache woke up four days later to discover she had given birth to a surprise baby girl.
Ebony Stevenson, 18, from Oldham, had no idea she was pregnant when she went to bed feeling unwell.
She was taken to hospital after suffering a series of seizures where medics discovered she was expecting.
Her unborn baby had been hidden in one of two wombs, in a rare condition called uterus didelphys.
One of the wombs was continuing to menstruate while the other was growing her baby.
That womb was positioned towards her back so the pregnancy went unnoticed.
The sports physiotherapy student awoke on 6 December having had a 7lbs 10oz baby girl.
She had not developed a bump, experienced morning sickness and had not missed a period.
Absolute Miracle
The first time mum, who named her daughter Elodie, said the whole experience was “overwhelming to say the least”.
“Meeting my baby was so surreal. It felt like an out-of-body experience,” she said.
“I worried I wouldn’t bond with my daughter because I had no time to get my head around her arrival, but I think she’s amazing.
“It’s an absolute miracle. I wouldn’t change Elodie for the world.”
Doctors discovered Ms Stevenson’s seizures were caused by preeclampsia and then told her mother she was pregnant and that the baby needed to be delivered.
She underwent an emergency caesarean and gave birth to Elodie just over three hours after her first seizure.
Ms Stevenson’s mother, Sheree, 39, said she called 999 after her daughter started being sick and having seizures on the bathroom floor.
Her mother said: “Despite me insisting she couldn’t be pregnant, the paramedics were certain she was, and to my shock a bump had appeared at her stomach.”
“They think the ferocity of the seizures could have caused the baby to move, making it suddenly visible.”
Ms Stevenson said Elodie was put straight on her chest when she awoke.
“It sounds awful now, but I asked them to take her away as I was so confused and sure they’d made a mistake,” she said.
“But my mum explained it all to me while the nurses were there and they gave my little girl back to me to hold properly for the first time.
“Although I was so confused – and pretty scared – it was a beautiful moment and she was so quiet.”
Due to the weight of the baby, doctors believe Ms Stevenson actually carried Elodie to full-term.
Ms Stevenson plans to go back to her studies at Hopwood College, Middleton, in February.
bbc.com
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at Submit an Article
