A teenager from Australia gave birth without realizing she was pregnant. She said she thought she “had gastro” before her water suddenly broke. Amber Smith, 18, lives in Mareeba, a small town in Far North Queensland.
She began feeling “tensing” in her stomach before “a huge stream of water and pink liquid” cascaded from her. For her and her fiance, it came as a “massive shock!”
Very shortly after Smith’s water broke, she gave birth.
Ten minutes after Smith’s water broke she gave birth to her “miracle child.” Cooper Allen-Robert Woods was born on April 15 and weighed 6 pounds and 7 ounces. The birth made parents out of Smith and her fiance Blairdon Nicol, 20.
Smith told Daily Mail Australia she had finished work with a headache and thought she was coming down with gastro so she spent the afternoon relaxing.
“I had to work in the morning and about 20 minutes into my shower my whole stomach tensed and as I looked down a huge stream of water poured out of me,” she explained.
“I thought it must have been urine or something but it was a pink color so my mind flipped to my water breaking but I thought no way as I wasn’t pregnant.”
A Cairns woman has unexpectedly given birth in the shower, unaware she was pregnant. #9Today pic.twitter.com/3LEQ7sVG0M
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 21, 2020
Smith and Nicol appeared on Today to discuss their surprise baby. Hosts Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon asked Smith whether she had any idea she was about to become a mother.
“Not at all, because I still got regular periods and I didn’t have any showing or what, or any symptoms like morning sickness,” Smith said.
As soon as her water broke, Smith screamed for her fiance.
“I realized what was happening when she did a terrible scream in the shower and I freaked out,” he said.
Nicol described the experience as a “massive shock.”
Nicol said the birth of their first child was “absolutely, 100 percent” a “complete shock.”
“I don’t know exactly what went through my mind but it was a massive shock,” he said. “As I had to deliver my son, it was a complete whole thing. No one gets to do this, no one gets to experience this.”
He recalled seeing the baby crowning and then called an ambulance before continuing to help Smith.
“We both were completely in shock but Blairdon was instantly in love. I was in so much pain and it hurt to sit, my legs couldn’t stop shaking and I couldn’t stop crying,” Smith told the Daily Mail Australia.
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Smith said she only experienced slight weight gain and continued to have periods throughout her pregnancy. Her family was in disbelief when she told them about her baby.
Smith’s family didn’t find out about the baby until they arrived at the hospital where Smith was receiving care.
“They instantly were ecstatic and coming up with names for bub to call them. Both our families and friends and co-workers were so supportive and instantly were trying to help us to get ready for life as parents,” she said.
The teen also said that the couple did want to have children but were planning on waiting until they were more financially stable. Now, after a week with their son, the couple can’t imagine life without him.
Midwives and nurses at the hospital helped prepare Smith for life as a mom.
“I was actually happy to stay in hospital as the midwives really helped me start to learn how to take care of Cooper at home,” she said.
“The only bad thing was no visitors were allowed due to coronavirus. Cooper and I are avoiding the coronavirus by staying home and limiting who can come to the house.”
In the Today interview, Smith disclosed that doctors and nurses were not certain how the pregnancy went unnoticed.
“Some say it’s like a cryptic pregnancy and that he was sitting further back to the spine and being covered up and that’s why I couldn’t feel kicks and stuff,” she said. “It’s a bit iffy, they can’t say exactly.”
Wow! Can you imagine? We’re happy for both Smith and Nicol although it was a huge surprise, we hope they enjoy the very special early days with their son, Cooper.
Contents
- 1 Very shortly after Smith’s water broke, she gave birth.
- 2 The couple was invited on Today in Australia to share their experience.
- 3 Nicol described the experience as a “massive shock.”
- 4 Smith said she only experienced slight weight gain and continued to have periods throughout her pregnancy. Her family was in disbelief when she told them about her baby.
- 5 Midwives and nurses at the hospital helped prepare Smith for life as a mom.
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