Health

New mother, 18, didn't know she was pregnant until she gave birth in the kitchen


A teenager has revealed how she had a baby by surprise while standing in her kitchen earlier this year.

Milaois Murphy, from Dublin, said she had no idea she was even pregnant until her daughter ‘slid out into her trousers’.

Harper weighed just 1lb (458g) when she was born 26 weeks into the pregnancy, and she stopped breathing almost immediately.

Miss Murphy thought her pain was appendicitis and she had been getting ‘chubby’, but unknowingly, her daughter was growing inside her.

After three months in intensive care, her five-month-old is now healthy, weighs 8lbs (3.6kg) and lives at home with Miss Murphy and her partner, James Mulligan.

Milaois Murphy and her partner James Mulligan didn't know they were going to be parents until their daughter was already born, after Miss Murphy went into labour by surprise in her kitchen

Milaois Murphy and her partner James Mulligan didn’t know they were going to be parents until their daughter was already born, after Miss Murphy went into labour by surprise in her kitchen

Miss Murphy, who lives in Dublin, said she had no idea she was even pregnant until her daughter Harper (pictured together) 'slid out into her trousers'

Miss Murphy, who lives in Dublin, said she had no idea she was even pregnant until her daughter Harper (pictured together) ‘slid out into her trousers’

Newborn babies usually weight around 7lbs.

Miss Murphy had been up all night at home being sick, leading her mother, Victoria to think she had appendicitis.

She had also experienced back pain leading up to the bizarre event.

But then her waters broke while she was standing in the kitchen and her mother realised what was happening, Miss Murphy told the Irish Mirror.

Her daughter was born 14 weeks premature and only two weeks after the NHS abortion time limit.

Miss Murphy said: ‘I had back pain and I couldn’t sleep but that was my only symptom. I thought I was getting a bit chubby.

Harper, now five months old, was born just 26 weeks into the pregnancy – two weeks after the abortion time limit – and had to be kept in intensive care for around three months

Harper, now five months old, was born just 26 weeks into the pregnancy – two weeks after the abortion time limit – and had to be kept in intensive care for around three months

Miss Murphy said she had just thought she was getting 'chubby' and that she doesn't think she would have recognised the feeling of the baby kicking because she'd never been pregnant before and wasn't expecting it to happen

After three months in intensive care, her five-month-old is now healthy, weighs 8lbs (3.6kg) and lives at home with Miss Murphy and her partner, James Mulligan

Miss Murphy said she had just thought she was getting ‘chubby’ and that she doesn’t think she would have recognised the feeling of the baby kicking because she’d never been pregnant before and wasn’t expecting it to happen

BABIES ARE ‘VIABLE’ IF BORN AFTER 24 WEEKS

Around eight per cent of babies are born prematurely, which is considered to be when they are born before the 37th week of a pregnancy.

The standard expected length of a pregnancy is 40 weeks. 

The NHS considers babies to be ‘viable’ at 24 weeks or later into the pregnancy – this means it’s possible for them to survive being born from this point onwards.

Babies can still legally be aborted in the UK until the 24th week of pregnancy. 

Babies born very early will need intensive care in a specialist neonatal hospital unit.

They may have serious health problems – particularly affecting the lungs and brain – because they haven’t had time to develop properly in the womb.

Source: NHS 

‘The baby could have been kicking but I didn’t know because I never had a baby and I thought it could be wind or something.

‘That night, I was vomiting and vomiting and I said, “Ma, I need to go to the hospital”. We thought it was my appendix.

‘Within seconds I felt pressure and my waters broke everywhere.’

An ambulance was called to take her to the hospital but Harper came out while they waited.

Miss Murphy said: ‘She was born on the kitchen floor.

‘Me Ma knew straight away and told me to relax and called my sister and the baby literally slid out into my trousers.

‘I was so numb with the shock it didn’t click with me until the next morning that I had a baby.

‘Then I went up and I saw her and the mother instinct immediately kicked in. Then I rang her father and we went up and picked her name.’

But the birth was a problematic one, and Harper needed resuscitating more than once.

After letting out a short cry when she was born, Harper stopped breathing.

Miss Murphy’s mother gave CPR to begin with, while on the phone to emergency services, then doctors continued the lifesaving treatment at hospital.

Harper’s difficult journey into the world is revealed on a new TV show called The Rotunda on Irish channel, RTE.

Consultant neonatalogist at The Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Adrienne Foran said: ‘Harper was smaller than a bag of sugar.

‘She was about 20 minutes old when I met her, she had come in with no heart rate but responded well to initial resuscitation.’

Miss Murphy is now off school and caring for her daughter, who ‘still looks like a newborn’, but plans to go back and finish her exams in the next year.

Mr Mulligan, speaking about his daughter, added: ‘It’s crazy how happy she can make you. She is such a strong baby.’

The Rotunda airs tonight on RTE2 at 9.30pm.



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.