Pregnancy is supposed to prepare you for parenthood, am I right? Imagine NOT KNOWING you were pregnant AT ALL until your baby is ACTUALLY CROWNING…
While these events will have you crossing your legs and squeezing your pelvic floor in sympathy, we can only marvel at this mum’s story of unexpected parenthood.
Charlotte Dubard, a UK waitress had absolutely no idea that she was pregnant, let alone that she was about to deliver her sweet bub at home, in her bathtub. And all alone.
Crowning baby? There’s an app for that.
Charlotte reports that she felt a series of sudden abdominal pains so decided to investigate with her phone camera. As you do. After taking a video, Charlotte was stunned to see her baby’s hair emerging from her ‘downstairs’ nether regions. Holy moly can you EVEN IMAGINE?
The bathroom becomes makeshift maternity suite
Aged 24, Charlotte let her instinct take over as she gave birth to her beautiful (although undeniably painful) 2.9kg baby boy in the bathroom. She used a pair of nail scissors to cut the umbilical cord herself before ringing her partner Miguel to tell him to, “come home urgently”.
Welcome home, surprise!
Unsurprisingly, it took some persuading on Charlotte’s behalf to convince Miguel that the newborn baby was theirs before naming him Elias.
When Miguel came home, he screamed “Oh my God you found a baby in the street!
Reflecting back on her pregnancy, Charlotte reports that she did gain a little weight but not enough to question and that her menstrual cycle remained normal throughout.
I obviously gained a little bit of weight but nowhere near enough to make me think I could be pregnant.
Now for a happily ever after…
Thankfully, all is well that ends well. Elias was whisked off to hospital after his surprise entry into the world and given a clean bill of health. Phew!
I call him my miracle baby because he is so healthy after all I put him through
Charlotte says she feels incredibly lucky to have such a healthy baby despite smoking, drinking and working 14-hour days throughout her pregnancy. Hats off to you mama, your body was a tower of strength to endure it all!
Welcome to parenthood Charlotte and Miguel! Talk about a thoroughly EXCELLENT birth story to tell Elias when he’s older!
How do you know if you’re in labour? See our early labour signs to look out for. PLUS rules for all your well meaning visitors – here are all the dos and don’ts of visiting a new baby.
