A mother who had no idea she was pregnant thought her stomach cramps were due to “poor quality takeaway chicken” – until she gave birth to a baby girl.
Zoe Doyle, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, was left stunned after giving birth to her newborn daughter Hayley in her tent while camping on Hayling Island, Hampshire.
The 38-year-old said she had had “no symptoms of pregnancy”, had regular periods and had even flown to Turkey two months before the unexpected arrival.
Zoe said she had noticed some weight gain in the months leading up to Hayley’s birth, but attributed it to late-night snacking.
The nanny’s life was turned upside down when she went on a camping holiday with her two children and husband Stuart Doyle last month.
Zoe Doyle, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, was left stunned after giving birth to her newborn daughter Hayley in her tent while camping on Hayling Island, Hampshire.
Just days into the trip, Zoe woke up around 5 a.m. on August 1 with stomach cramps, which she attributed to a “poor-quality chicken takeout.”
However, when the stomach pains worsened, Zoe thought she might be having a miscarriage and woke her husband to ask for help.
The mother of three said she began to feel an overwhelming urge to push when Stuart saw a head sticking out of her.
He then attended the birth of the couple’s surprise baby in the tent’s living room before rushing his wife to the hospital.
Zoe said: ‘I woke up and thought the chicken we had eaten the night before had made my stomach really upset.
‘I couldn’t get to the main bathrooms and we have a small portable toilet in the tent and I stayed there.
‘I thought it was just stomach pains, but they were getting worse. I knew something was wrong. There was so much blood I thought I was having a miscarriage.
“I didn’t know I was doing all the contractions alone in the porta potty. I just stood up and my husband asked me if I was okay and I said, ‘I need to push. ‘ Then I got down on all fours and my husband saw a head.
“He had to help her deliver her baby in the tent, cut the umbilical cord and wrap her up in whatever we had. I did it all by myself. I felt like the Virgin Mary giving birth in the open air. It was very strange.”
Stuart and Zoe Doyle are pictured together on holiday when Zoe was unknowingly seven months pregnant.
Poppy and Jake are pictured with their new baby sister Hayley, who was born during their family camping holiday.
Stuart Doyle is pictured holding his baby daughter after giving birth in a tent.
The mother of three said she then began to feel an overwhelming urge to push when Stuart saw a head protruding from her belly.
Stuart and Zoe are pictured on holiday when she was unknowingly seven months pregnant.
As Zoe’s stomach pains worsened, Zoe thought she might be having a miscarriage and woke her husband to call for help and they saw Hayley’s head sticking out.
Zoe gave birth to Hayley Doyle, a healthy baby girl weighing 8lb 14oz and named after her birthplace on Hayling Island.
“She literally walked out and I remember thinking, ‘What just happened?’ I was like, ‘How could I not have noticed? Everything I shouldn’t have done, I did.'”
Zoe gave birth to a healthy Hayley Doyle, who weighed 8lb 14oz and was named after her birthplace on Hayling Island.
Zoe says she didn’t experience any classic symptoms during her nine-month pregnancy and even travelled abroad in her final trimester.
Zoe said: ‘I didn’t have any symptoms. I thought I’d just put on a bit of weight. My period was light but I put it down to stress and I still had them every month.
‘I didn’t have any cravings or anything. I had gained a little weight, but I attributed it to snacking more at night. I didn’t have a noticeable bulge and no one mentioned anything.
“There was no morning sickness or anything. It was really a hidden pregnancy.
Zoe is pictured holding her newborn daughter Hayley, who surprised the family on August 1.
Zoe said that because her husband is diabetic, doctors said her chances of having another baby were “pretty slim.”
Zoe flew to Türkiye for a holiday in her third trimester when she didn’t know she was pregnant.
Zoe (pictured with daughter Poppy and son Jake) said her “huge surprise” fitted in perfectly with her growing family.
Zoe and Stuart are pictured with their one-year-old son Jake, pictured left and right.
Zoe (pictured with husband Stuart) thought a ‘poor quality takeaway chicken’ was the reason she was in pain.
“I actually went on holiday to Turkey in June. I know now that I shouldn’t have flown. I feel terrible, I could have had her abroad. I was seven months pregnant without knowing it.”
Zoe said her “big surprise” fit perfectly with her growing family.
Zoe said: ‘I said I’d always have another one but our youngest isn’t two yet and we said we’d see about that. Then we said no, we were done.
‘Because my husband is also diabetic, they said our chances of having another child were pretty slim. So when she arrived, I thought, “How on earth is she here? She fought against all odds to be here.”
“I took the pill several times, but because we were told our chances of getting pregnant were low, we didn’t think much of it. It was a huge shock.
“When she’s older, she’ll have an amazing story to tell. I never believed the cryptic pregnancy stories I read until it happened to me.”
“She fit in perfectly, as if everything was meant to happen. They think I carried her high and that’s why I didn’t feel her move.”
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