Woman had ‘no idea’ she was pregnant until finding out she was in labour on Christmas Day
A woman who had 'no idea' she was pregnant has opened up about going into labour and giving birth on Christmas Day.
Kayleigh Tilley wasn't the first and certainly won't be last woman to go months growing a baby without any sort of inkling that there's anything out of the ordinary.
Doctors often advise expecting mothers to avoid activities with risk of injury or that could cause significant physical strain, however, Kayleigh took things even further, riding banana boats, zip-lining and white water rafting all while she was - unknowingly - with child.
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It's perhaps even more impressive that she was able to give birth to a healthy baby girl, named Holly Tilley-Jerrom, weighing 4lb 1oz on Christmas Day 2024.
Kayleigh says she had no immediate plans of getting pregnant with her boyfriend of just three months, Nick Jerrom, and continued living life to the fullest during the 34 weeks she was carrying her daughter.
The 24-year-old, from Bexley, London, said: "I was going on loads of holidays with my friends and my partner.
"I was living my best life not realising I was pregnant. I wasn't thinking about kids at this stage. I was working full-time in childcare.
"I went on about five or six different holidays to Magaluf, Dublin, Amsterdam, Turkey. Magaluf was a holiday with the girls while unknowingly three months pregnant.
"I was about six or seven months pregnant while in Turkey. We did white-water rafting, zip-lining, and a crazy sofa ride.
"I'd been on nights out where I'd had a couple of drinks but not a huge amount."
Given that Kayleigh is a self-confessed adrenaline junkie, it's perhaps a good job that the baby was presumably experiencing a wild ride during the pregnancy, so she can be properly prepared for future adventures with her mum.
Kayleigh also went into detail about her scary experience on Christmas Day, where she arrived at hospital with heavy bleeding only to be told that she was in labour.
She explained: "I got rushed into an emergency ward and they started doing all sorts of tests.
"They did an ultrasound scan and told me there was a baby in there and they were ready to come now.
"I didn't know what to say. I was really shocked. I started thinking about all the stuff I'd done over the last few months and what I was going to tell my family.
"Nick was really shocked, kids hadn't really come up in conversation."
Other than some strange allergic reactions to strawberries and pineapple, Kayleigh said she stayed the same clothing size throughout her pregnancy, had irregular periods, which wasn't unusual for her, and didn't notice any changes to her appetite.
The new mum said: "I got home and started looking at pictures and thought 'you can't even tell, where was she hiding?'
"I had no signs at all, I didn't have to change clothes sizes. I feel so lucky that she's healthy."
After a week in hospital recovering, which included a blood transfusion due to the considerable blood loss before her labour, Kayleigh will now have to start learning to be a parent very much on the job.
James Moorhouse