NEED TO KNOW
A 45-year-old mother from England gave birth to a surprise baby while vacationing in Canada
What made the baby’s arrival even more surprising was that the woman didn’t know was pregnant until the baby’s arrival
“I had no idea what was happening,” the woman said
A 45-year-old mom was on vacation with her family in Canada when she gave birth to a full-term baby while in her hotel bathroom. The most surprising part of that experience? She had no idea she was pregnant.
After Helen Green arrived in Toronto for the start of her trip with husband Michael and their 6-year-old daughter Darcy on May 21, she began having stomach pain in the middle of the night, she told SWNS.
Around 1:45 a.m., she was sitting on the toilet in the hotel room’s ensuite when her “body just took over” and she gave birth to a baby she didn’t realize she was carrying.
“I had no idea what was happening,” said Helen, who hails from Bristol, England, where she works in financial services. “After two massive pushes there was a baby, so I picked her up out of the loo and held her in my arms.”
Initially, Michael thought the sounds of a newborn crying were coming from a nearby room. He was astonished when he walked in and saw his wife with a baby in her arms.
“I was in such a daze, we could hardly work out what was going on,” said Michael, 45.
The frantic husband immediately called 911 so his wife and baby could be transported to a nearby hospital.
“We didn’t know if the baby was well or whether it was full term,” the new dad said. “We didn’t even check to see whether it was a boy or a girl — a paramedic told us.”
When medical personnel asked Michael about the pregnancy at the hospital, he didn’t have any information to share.
“I just kept saying, ‘I don’t know,’ ” he recalled.
SWNS
Baby Olivia
Fortunately, the baby girl — who was born at 8 lbs., 3 oz. — was healthy. The couple named her Olivia, and quickly shared the news with their family.
“This was such a huge huge shock, and also such a lovely surprise,” the proud mom told SWNS. “She just came along and it feels like she’s always been with us.”
Helen, who is also mom to an 18-year-old son Harry, had multiple miscarriages after she gave birth to Darcy.
Throughout her pregnancy with baby Olivia, she says she had no pregnancy symptoms and had a regular period, she told SWNS.
The mom went on to explain that she had a “massive bump” with her previous pregnancies, but this time around she didn’t — and she was going to the gym four times a week.
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Despite her unexpected arrival, baby Olivia was immediately surrounded by love — but returning home to the U.K. was difficult, her parents said. The family had to extend their trip as they awaited the baby’s birth certificate and passport.
“Registering her birth was a nightmare,” Helen told SWNS. “All we had were discharge papers from hospital.”
Fortunately, they did still manage to have some family fun, which included going to three baseball games and visiting Niagara Falls twice.
“It was very hard not knowing how long we would be there, and very stressful on week days chasing the birth certificate and passport, but great at the weekends when all the offices were closed and there was nothing we could do about it,” said Helen.
SWNS
Baby Olivia on the plane back home
Finally, after weeks of waiting, the Green family was able to fly home on Wednesday, June 25. The vacation ended up costing more than $12,000 than expected because of hospital, hotel and other living and travel costs, but they hope the added expense will be covered by travel insurance.
But the most important thing of all is now they’re home together as a family.
“Getting your head round having a baby is hard, but it’s something else when you didn’t know you were pregnant,” said Helen. “Within a few days it just started to feel familiar that I had a baby, and such a joy.”
Read the original article on People
