A woman found out she was pregnant just four hours before she gave birth when she left a party and rushed to hospital – after mistaking her bump as bloating.
Lorna Goodings, 25, was convinced she was ‘just bloated’ after doctors thought put her swollen tummy down to the effects of her birth control – the contraceptive implant.
She even did a pregnancy test in July – while she would have been 38 weeks gone – which came back negative.
Lorna was shocked to find out she was pregnant and already in labour just four hours before she gave birth to her little girl, Daphne Burdiak, at Northampton General hospital, Northampton, on August 1 – weighing 8lbs 2oz.
She says: ‘When I went into labour, I was at a party with my friends, 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.’
It was such a surprise Lorna and her partner, Nick Burdiak, 42, a machine operator, who couldn’t make it for the birth as he was on a night out with his friends.
Lorna continued: ‘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 the pair have two little girls together – both under 13 months – after having Daphne’s big sister, Vivienne, in June 2020.
‘I had the contraceptive implant in October but started feeling really rubbish pretty soon after,’ Lorna said.
‘I put on lots of weight, but I knew that was a side effect, so I didn’t think anything of it.’
But Lorna was still struggling with an uncomfortable bloated stomach, so went to see her GP.
‘They told me to keep going with the implant and thought it might just be water retention, so they told me to try and lose weight,’ she said.
Lorna then started fasting and exercising a lot to push herself to lose weight on her doctor’s advice, all to no avail.
She said: ‘I was going for long walks and actively trying to get the weight to budge in the hope that would help the discomfort.
‘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.
‘I was in pain all day and it did feel like contractions, so I did actually take a pregnancy test, but it said negative,’ she said.
‘But the pain kept getting worse and it was so bad I could hardly speak.’
It was when her friends rushed Lorna to hospital that medics ran checks and determined she was in fact pregnant.
She 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,’ Lorna said.
‘But I was still in a massive state of shock. It was certainly something to get my head around.
‘Nick was an hour away and drunk with his friends when this was all happening, so I didn’t tell him until after I had given birth. He was very shocked and devastated he couldn’t be there.’
Although Nick and Vivienne didn’t get a chance to meet baby Daphne for two days, Lorna says it was nice to have time to bond with the baby alone. And they were both delighted when they did get the chance.
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,’ Lorna said.
‘She is such a good baby. She is the perfect little newborn.’
Nick said: ‘It was a huge shock and something neither of us ever thought could happen, especially as we were careful.
‘Luckily she is healthy and beautiful but things could have been a lot worse.
‘We are very grateful.’
