'I didn't know I was pregnant... I just thought it was period pains': Size 10 woman who went to hospital with a sore back is stunned to GIVE BIRTH to baby boy just hours later
- > Sophie Aldridge, 20, assumed her back ache was due to period pain
- >When it got worse, went to hospital but was sent home shortly afterwards
- >When her condition deteriorated, she was rushed back in an ambulance
- >On the way, her waters broke - she gave birth to baby Thomas 30 mins later
- >Says she had 'no idea' she was pregnant as continued to have periods
- >She also didn't gain any weight, have a baby bump or any cravings
When Sophie Aldridge went to hospital complaining of back ache, doctors dismissed her with a dose of painkillers.
Hours later, she was back in hospital – giving birth.
The 20-year-old had no idea she was expecting as she didn’t put on weight, still wore her size-ten clothes and continued having regular periods throughout the pregnancy.
She even kept going on nights out with friends up until 5lb 8oz son Thomas arrived.
Surprise: Sophie Aldridge, 20, had no idea she was pregnant when she woke in the middle of the night with severe back ache. Her son Thomas was born just hours later
Miss Aldridge said: ‘It was a big shock to everyone when I suddenly arrived home with a baby.
‘When I gave birth I didn’t even have a nappy to my name, let alone clothes, pram, cot … I had nothing.’
Miss Aldridge, who lives with her parents in Dover, Kent, had woken up in the middle of the night with agonising back ache, but blamed it on period pains.
When her condition deteriorated the next day, her mother took her to hospital, but doctors couldn’t find anything wrong and sent her away with drugs to make her more comfortable.
Shortly after arriving home, however, the pain became too much to bear and Miss Aldridge was taken back to hospital in an ambulance.
It was only then that paramedics broke the news that she was pregnant and in labour – and Thomas was born less than half an hour after she arrived at A&E.
Slim: Miss Aldridge (in the red skirt) when she was eight months pregnant and (right) at seven months. Because she had no idea she was expecting, she continued to drink throughout her pregnancy
Miss Aldridge, who works as a carer, said: ‘I was due to come on to my period that day so I thought that must have been why I was having such bad pains.
‘I know it might sound really stupid to some people but I literally had no idea I was pregnant – I didn’t have any symptoms.
‘I didn’t get morning sickness, I stayed wearing my size-ten clothes, I had regular periods throughout the pregnancy and I didn’t have any cravings. To give birth there and then like I did was absolutely terrifying.’
Fortunately, friends and family rallied around to help the single mother cope with the unexpected arrival.
She said: ‘When I came home from hospital my friends and family had come together and donated nearly everything Thomas and I needed, which was so kind.’
'Miracle': Miss Aldridge had thought her back pain was period pain - but then her waters broke and baby Thomas arrived half an hour later
Miss Aldridge had still been enjoying frequent nights out with friends right up until Thomas’s arrival.
She said: ‘I was still going out and getting drunk with my friends while I was pregnant – I had no idea I was pregnant, obviously.
‘I was still wearing crop-tops and mini skirts, I didn’t have a bump or anything.’
Her pregnancy was discovered in November only after the crippling back ache struck. Her worried mother called 111 for emergency advice and took her daughter to William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, but doctors found nothing wrong.
Miss Aldridge said: ‘A doctor gave me some tablets and then just sent me home.
‘I thought that obviously everything was fine and normal and that it must have just been period pain – they wouldn’t have sent me home otherwise.’
Miss Aldridge said: 'I know it might sound really stupid to some people, but I literally had no idea I was pregnant - I didn't have any symptoms'
Just hours after returning home, however, the pain became too much to bear and her mother called an ambulance to take her back to the hospital.
In the ambulance, Miss Aldridge’s waters broke and paramedics realised she was in labour.
‘The next thing I remember I was in hospital with a baby in my arms,’ she said.
‘Everything was just so quick I didn’t really have time to gauge what was happening.
‘I was only in labour for 30 minutes.
‘In a way I’m so glad it all happened – I wouldn’t change Thomas for the world now. I like to call him my little miracle.’
The phenomenon of undiagnosed pregnancy isn’t quite as rare as might be expected. Studies have shown that up to one in 600 mothers-to-be do not realise they are pregnant until they give birth, or just before.
It is more likely to occur among menopausal women and younger, busy women because they are not expecting to be pregnant and will not be looking for the signs.
It is not uncommon for pregnant women to experience some light bleeding – or ‘spotting’ – especially in the first few months, which can allow them to think they are still menstruating.
Many don’t put on very much weight and won’t necessarily have a defined bump.
Although the average woman puts on two stone, some gain as little as half a stone and can still fit into the same clothes.
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