Mum went to hospital with suspected kidney stones – and left with a baby
When BriAnna Blanton woke up in pain, she went to the hospital, thinking she had kidney stones.
But it was quickly discovered that the 18-year-old was in labour.
Brianna, from South Carolina, USA, had no idea she was pregnant until doctors told her she was 5cm dilated.
She hadn’t gained weight, and was still having her periods. She said she’d spent the previous summer hanging out with friends, swimming and riding horses.
Thankfully, her daughter, Oakleigh Allyn, now six months, was delivered safely, and is thriving.
BriAnna said: ‘I went through the whole of last summer not knowing I was pregnant.
‘I was in bikinis and crop tops, but I never gained any weight or had any other symptoms. I was even still getting my period and was never late.
‘I was so unprepared for having a baby. I didn’t have any nappies, a cot, or clothes. I didn’t have anything at all.
‘However, luckily, all of my family, friends and church family rallied around me to support me and my new baby.’
BriAnna had no pregnancy symptoms until she woke up at 4am one night with pain in her ribs.
She says: ‘I woke up and felt like I needed to go to the toilet really badly, but I just went back to sleep because I didn’t want to get up.
‘Ten minutes later, I woke up again, but this time it felt like I’d had an accident which I thought was so weird. This had never happened to me before. It turns out that this was my waters breaking.
‘The pain also got worse in my ribs, so I decided to wake my mum because I didn’t know what was happening.’
Suspecting kidney stones, BriAnna’s mum took her to hospital.
‘When we arrived, my mum explained what was happening while I was experiencing pain lower down every three to four minutes, which obviously turned out to be contractions,’ explains BriAnna.
‘The nurse then asked if she could check for labour and I agreed – I had taken a pregnancy test a month before because I’d got sick after eating something. My mum had wanted me to do a test, but it had been negative.’
But after the nurse examined BriAnna, she confirmed she was in fact pregnant.
‘I’ll never forget the look on her face when she told me that she thought I was 8cm dilated.
‘My mouth fell to the floor. I couldn’t even cry. I was in a total state of shock.
‘I had no time to physically or mentally prepare for giving birth, so I was absolutely terrified.
‘I was then taken to the labour and delivery department, where they confirmed that I was actually 5cm dilated and a baby was on the way.
‘I had an epidural, but before it could even start to work, the baby arrived within ten minutes of having the epidural.’
BriAnna gave birth to her surprise daughter, Oakleigh Allyn, who weighed 7lbs 4oz, at 7:36 am on 9 September.
Her new baby girl was placed straight onto her skin, and BriAnna says that her mum compared her to looking like a deer in the headlights.
BriAnna added: ‘I have no idea how I had a 7lbs baby inside of me. I had always been so skinny.
‘When I eventually calmed down after giving birth, my mum asked me what I was going to name her. I spent 45 minutes thinking about it before coming up with the name Oakleigh.’
BriAnna was nervous to tell family and friends about her newborn.
She says: ‘It took me a while to process and get used to the situation. I was also terrified to tell my friends because I didn’t know how they’d react.
‘I didn’t tell them for about a week, but when I eventually did, they were so amazing about it.’
Now, after coming to terms with the shock, BriAnna is enjoying motherhood.
She says: ‘I am loving being a mum. Luckily, I had worked in childcare previously so I wasn’t totally unaware of how to look after a baby. It all started to come to me naturally, along with the help and support from my mum.
‘Although Oakleigh was a massive surprise, she is a really big blessing in disguise and I wouldn’t change being her mum for anything in the world.’
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