Woman Gives Birth After Doctors Said Her Swollen Tummy Was 'Just Bloated'
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A woman found out she was pregnant just four hours before she gave birth after mistaking her bump as bloating.
Lorna Goodings, 25, was convinced she was 'just bloated' after doctors thought her swollen tummy was due to the effects of her birth control, the contraceptive implant.
According to the NHS, the contraceptive implant, which is inserted into the upper arm and lasts for up to three years, is more than 99 per cent effective.
Her daughter, Daphne Burdiak, was born at Northampton General Hospital on 1st August 2021, weighing 8lbs 2oz. Her partner, Nick Burdiak, 42, a machine operator, missed the surprise birth because he was on a night out with friends.
Lorna, who works as a publisher at a travel magazine, even did a pregnancy test in July 2021 when she was unknowingly 38 weeks pregnant but the test came back negative.
“I had been feeling awful for months and was constantly bloated but I was convinced I wasn't pregnant,” said Lorna.
"I even saw my GP and she didn't think I was. I took a pregnancy test and it came back negative. I wasn't having periods but I hadn't since I had gone on the implant so I thought it was that.
Lorna and Nick are now the parents to two little girls who are both under 13 months. Daphne’s big sister, Vivienne, was born in June 2020.
"When I went into labour [with Daphne], I was at a party with my friend's, and I was in pain all day. It got so bad that my friends took me to the hospital, and medics told me I was 38 weeks pregnant and in labour. I couldn't believe it.
"I didn't even tell Nick - as I knew he would have had too many pints and wouldn't understand.
"It's been a massive shock, but baby Daphne is just amazing. Now we're getting used to life with our little unexpected addition."
After their first daughter Vivienne was born last year, the couple decided not to have any more children. Lorna got the contraceptive implant in October but said she “started feeling really rubbish pretty soon after.”
She added: "I put on lots of weight, but I knew that was a side effect, so I didn't think anything of it."
In June 2021, Lorna was struggling with an "uncomfortable" bloated stomach so she went to see her GP who put Lorna’s bloated stomach down to water retention and encouraged her to lose weight.
"I didn't think I was pregnant because I knew what it had felt like when I had carried Vivienne."
Lorna took a pregnancy test on the day she went into labour but it came back negative. On 31st July 2021, she went to a party with her friends and experienced back pain that she said felt similar to contractions. After the pain intensified, Lorna’s friends rushed her to hospital where medics ran checks and determined she was in fact pregnant.
"I still thought they were wrong when I heard that," she said.
"I had been so convinced that it was just side effects from the implant."
Lorna was in labour for just four hours before she gave birth to her second child, Daphne.
"I had a rush of love as soon as I held her in my arms but was still in a massive state of shock. It was certainly something to get my head around," she explained.
Nick didn't get to meet Daphne until she was two days old and Vivienne fell in love with her little sister as soon as they met.
Now Daphne is home and doing well and the family are adjusting to their new surprise addition.
"We're very happy but it has been a lot. She is such a good baby. She is the perfect little newborn."