A woman was left stunned to discover she was pregnant, only finding out the news as she was in labour.
Ellie Johnson, 24, was suffering from abdominal pain, but otherwise had no symptoms that suggested she could be pregnant.
As well as continuing to have periods and remaining a size 10, master’s student Ellie claims to have had six doctors ‘confirm’ she wasn’t pregnant, as well as taking three pregnancy tests and even having an ultrasound all failing to reveal her baby.
Advert
Now, Ellie says she can’t imagine life without her “incredible” daughter Alicia, three.
"I didn't know I was pregnant until I was giving birth, that's the funny part of the story that people quite like,” Ellie, of Henham, Essex, said.
"I was on the contraceptive pill. I was taking it every day and even through my pregnancy, I was taking it every day.
Advert
"I didn't really have any symptoms. I was still having periods every month and didn't have a bump or anything like that.”
Ellie’s ignorance over her pregnancy saw her continue to live a life akin to that of a woman in her early twenties – going on holidays, drinking and even flying to Edinburgh for a pub crawl the weekend before Alicia was born.
Ellie first saw a doctor in 2018 for abdominal pain, and saw a gastroenterologist specialist the next month.
Advert
The nature lover claims she had blood tests where no hormones were detected that indicated that she was expecting.
"The only reason I started going to the doctors was because I had stomach pain, was really uncomfortable and felt like I was putting on weight,” Ellie said.
"I did a pregnancy test at home and thought 'oh, it's negative, it can't be that' and had six doctors say that I wasn't pregnant.
"I went to the doctors and they looked me over, sent me for some blood tests and gave me a pregnancy test while I was there, and it came back negative.
Advert
"They thought it was something to do with my digestive system so I was sent to specialists. “All of the easy stuff was being ruled out by tests and they thought it was quite serious and that I basically had a blockage somewhere.
"I'd wake up one morning and I'd feel like I'd eaten a full English breakfast, I'd feel full.”
On the 20th December 2018, Ellie claims she had an ultrasound of her stomach and ribs where she was told that everything appeared normal.
Advert
The following day, she went out for dinner and a few drinks to celebrate her grandmother's birthday but shortly after hopping into bed at around 10pm, experienced horrendous stomach and back pain.
After vomiting for the next four hours, Ellie and her mum called an ambulance at around 2am, and was taken to A&E.
"I went for a wee and it felt like all of my lower stomach muscles were just pulling and I thought 'there's something there, there's something going on that's not quite right,’” Ellie recalled.
"I genuinely thought because of everything, that my intestines were coming out of my bum.
"I screamed to the nurse that came running in and she went 'no, there's nothing there, let's get you onto a bed and have a look at you.’”
Ellie continued: "I said the pain was really bad and worse than it ever had been and they basically pushed me onto my side and her head was born, and that was the first time I knew that I was one, pregnant, and two, in labour.
"Her head came out and the doctors recoiled back from the bed and said 'we need to get a midwife' and pulled the panic button. At that point I had another pain and she was delivered on the bed behind me.
"I didn't quite believe it. I thought I was hallucinating at that point as well because of the pain and then I had this bundle put next to me and cuddled up with me, and there was a little baby face. And that was the first time I kind of fully believed that this was happening to me."
It is thought Alicia was spotted by doctors on ultrasound because Alicia's back was against her spine, which also explains the excruciating back pain she experienced during labour.
Because of the shock of the labour, Ellie initially struggled to get to grips with her pregnancy.
“My first reaction was 'I can't be a mum, I can't do it, please don't,’” she said.
"I spent 20 minutes alone with her and said 'you know what, if my body could have done that, I can do it, it's meant to be' and I just fell in love with her at that point anyway.
"I rang my friends and they didn't believe me, so they had to come to the hospital and they all cried. I think I was the only person that didn't cry, because I was still in a bit of a blur.
"It showed me how amazing the people around me were, the nurses were amazing and I just had so much support from everyone.
"The only way I can describe Alicia is that she's a whirlwind of energy. She's an absolute little fighter, she had nothing wrong with her and we joke that she was pickled through the pregnancy.
"But she is incredible, smart and she started walking when she was 11-months-old. She is just amazing and full of beans. I can't imagine my life without her now. It's crazy."
Kimberley Bond