A woman who had no idea she was pregnant gave birth to a healthy baby during what she assumed was a normal visit to the bathroom.
Courtney Scherger said the baby arrived with a splash over the weekend, “feet first” and fell into the toilet after “a big, fast push.”
The new mum had previously been told it would be unlikely she would be able to get pregnant and was paralysed with shock but screamed to her partner Simon Whittington, who ran in from the next room, picked up the baby and called an ambulance.
When paramedics arrived, they cut the umbilical cord and took the trio to North West Regional Hospital in Burnie, where Ms Scherger and baby Eli are doing well.
“It all happened very quickly, I didn’t have any pain, I didn’t feel too sick or anything, there were no signs or symptoms,” Scherger said. alphabet radio.
She and Mr Whittington were high on adrenaline, but said once they were under the care of doctors at the hospital, they calmed down and began to process that they are now proud parents.
Ms. Scherger had assumed she would not have children because she had been told she was perimenopausal.
“It’s an absolute, utter miracle that someone who can’t have children… is surprised with a beautiful baby,” she said.
Courtney Scherger and her partner Simon Whittington are proud parents after she gave birth during what she thought was a normal visit to the bathroom.
Ms. Scherger said she had not experienced morning sickness or cravings for the previous nine months and that her bleeding and belly appeared to remain its normal size.
In fact, I was experiencing a “hidden” or “cryptic” pregnancy, in which a woman does not know she is pregnant until late in the third trimester or when she goes into labor.
Studies suggest that about one in 475 pregnancies go undetected until about 20 weeks gestation and about one in 2,500 pregnancies are not detected until delivery.
Dr Natasha Vavrek, director of The Bubble, a women’s sexual, reproductive and mental health clinic based in Launceston, said common pregnancy symptoms such as fatigue or nausea can be dismissed as simply feeling unwell.
She said women who are pregnant or on pills can still get their periods and that pregnancy tests after the first trimester can be unreliable.
“For many women, if they take a pregnancy test after that point, they won’t get a positive result.”
Ms. Scherger and Mr. Whittington said they are now “cramming” nine months of learning into a few days as they prepare to bring Eli home.
Baby Eli and Mrs. Scherger are doing well in the hospital and will be returning home soon.
Her story echoes that of Melbourne model Erin Langmaid, who was 23 when she suddenly became a mother in October 2019.
She unexpectedly welcomed Isla into the world, despite showing no signs of pregnancy.
The size 8 model had been working full-time and taking birth control injections before the birth.
She didn’t experience typical symptoms of illness, such as a baby bump or cravings, and only felt sick on the day Isla was born.
His partner Dan Carty heard the commotion in the bathroom and was shocked by what he found inside.
“I heard a loud scream and I ran over there and opened the door and I was worried about her, and then I saw the little girl and I was like, ‘wait, there’s two of them,'” Carty said.
The father said he was “shocked.”