A woman had no idea she was pregnant until she went into labor while working a shift at Nando’s – but now she is thriving with her miracle child.
Destiny Stephens-Coull, 21, was in her final year of university and had just been offered a place at university for the following year when she realized she was pregnant.
Like many 18-year-olds, the young woman from Laindon, Essex, spent her weekends going clubbing drinking with scantily clad friends.
As well as her school work, Destiny also worked part-time at Nando’s while living with her mother, Diane Coull, 55, who works as a nursery assistant.
But everything changed when the young woman showed up for a shift on April 13, 2022 and felt like she was experiencing menstrual cramps, even though she wasn’t supposed to work for two more weeks.
Destiny Stephens-Coull photographed 20 weeks pregnant, without her knowing. The 21-year-old was shocked to discover that she was pregnant because she was still on her period and had a flat stomach.
The young mother appears holding her newborn son. She was just 18 when she discovered she was pregnant while working a shift at Nando’s.
Destiny photographed with her mother, Diane, holding baby Kingsley at home. The 21-year-old said motherhood didn’t hit home during the first few days.
After 30 minutes, she called her manager to bring her some tampons, but she was bleeding too much to put them in.
She said: ‘The toilets were like a crime scene – there was blood everywhere.
‘We went to A&E with me bleeding through my work uniform.
“I was in a corner with a pool of blood at my feet.”
Destiny ended up bleeding profusely in the bathroom for over an hour before being rushed to Basildon Hospital, Essex.
‘I fainted from blood loss and woke up with nurses around me. They asked me if I was pregnant and I said no.’
Destiny lost four liters of blood and required several transfusions.
To her bewilderment, Destiny was told she was six months pregnant, despite having had periods and not gaining weight.
Destiny photographed with Kingsley. The young mother held her baby’s tiny hand after he was placed in emergency care.
Kingsley, pictured, had to fight for his life after being born 10 weeks early by his unsuspecting mother.
Destiny imagined sharing a hug with her son at home. Son, Kingsley is now two years old.
Destiny was told that Kingsley (pictured at home) may have difficulty walking and talking due to his premature birth, but the boy, now two years old, appears to be meeting his goals.
She said: ‘I was really scared. She had been partying and drinking, she danced a lot and had a flat stomach.
‘I thought there was absolutely no way. I was too scared to tell my mother, so the midwife had to break the news to her.
The mother of one of them said: “I remember I was bleeding in Nando’s bathrooms and it was very intense, it came out like a tap.”
The next thing she knew, she woke up to her unexpected son, Kingsley, now two, who had to fight for his life after being born 10 weeks premature on April 13, weighing 3lb 1oz. .
Fortunately, two years later, both Destiny and her little one are doing well.
Like many others her age, Destiny was a normal 18-year-old girl who liked to go clubbing and drink on the weekends. When she found out that she was pregnant, she was horrified that she had gone out the previous weekend.
The mother of one of them in the photo in the hospital after giving birth. Destiny was so petrified telling her mother her shocking news that she asked a midwife to do it for her.
Little Kingsley, pictured later in an incubator, was born by Caesarean section weighing 3lb 1oz at 29 weeks and had to be rushed to the NICU.
Kingsley photographed in the hospital snuggled up with a Disney blanket with his name on it. The little boy surprised everyone around him when he arrived.
Destiny was photographed cuddling her newborn in the hospital. The mother of one of them said that she had never planned to have children for so long because she feared the judgment of others.
Little Kingsley was born by C-section weighing 3lb 1oz at 29 weeks and had to be rushed to the NICU.
He fought for his life: he was born with two brain hemorrhages, as well as hydrocephalus and jaundice.
“When I first saw Kingsley, I didn’t feel like a mother; she was adorable, but I felt like I’d been given a random baby to care for.
‘But when I fed him for the first time, I knew he was mine.
“I never planned to have a child and I thought they would judge me because I am so young, but everyone has been very supportive.
“But I’m very happy: Kingsley is turning into a very kind and affectionate boy.”
Destiny said: ‘When I first saw him, I thought he was cute but I didn’t feel like a mother.
“I’ve never gone through a pregnancy or scans or a gender reveal, so motherhood didn’t appear for a few days.”
When Kingsley, photographed healthy and happy, was born prematurely, he spent the first months of his life in the NICU while doctors found a way to stabilize him.
Destiny said she’s not “ecstatic” about becoming a mother after falling in love with her surprise baby, Kingsley (pictured)
The little one’s grandmother, Diane, pictured hugging her new grandson.
The boy remained in the NICU until August 2022, while doctors found a way to stabilize him.
He eventually had a shunt inserted to drain fluids from his brain.
Destiny was told that Kingsley might have difficulty walking and talking, but the boy, now two years old, appears to be meeting his goals.
While she feels sad that she never had the traditional pregnancy experience of having a bump, scans or a gender reveal, she is grateful for Kingsley.
She now lives with him in a mother and baby unit, and plans to get her own home in the near future for the two of them.
Reflecting on the experience, Destiny said: “It’s still strange to think about it.
‘I remember before this happened, I read a story about a woman who had a cryptic pregnancy and I thought ‘how come you didn’t know at all?’
But now people ask me that question!
‘If someone had told me three years ago that at 21 I would have a two-year-old son, I would have told them they were lying.
“But now I’m used to being a mother and I’m delighted that it’s my son.”