Could it happen to you?? *To be assessed*

We have all heard the stories of a girl someone knew who had a baby but didn’t tell anyone she was pregnant, or had a baby and didn’t even know she was pregnant. I didn’t think this could happen because I assumed all the signs would be obvious. I found out this past Christmas, that nine months of pregnancy could come and go and you wouldn’t have a clue.

Most people think, “Wouldn’t you be sick?”, or “Wouldn’t you gain a lot of weight?” All these things could happen, but it’s recognizing them as signs of pregnancy that makes the difference. Some people gain and lose weight regularly and some pregnant women don’t get sick.

On December 28th, 2006, Steph got up to go to her job at the mall. Being the Christmas season, she was working long hours and this shift was no different. She got to work in the morning for her 12 hour shift and wasn’t feeling herself. Steph brushed off the sick feeling because she knew she couldn’t miss work, she needed the money. Throughout the day, Steph would get intense pains in her stomach. She would buckle over but because the pain didn’t last very long, she would wait it out and go on with her duties.

She managed to get through the day but was feeling miserable by the time she finished her shift that night. She headed home where she lived in the basement of her mom and step dad’s house. Her boyfriend of a couple of years, Dave, was there waiting for her to spend some quality time together. Her parents headed off to bed and Steph and Dave relaxed while her sick feeling worsened.

At about 1:00 in the morning, Steph’s boyfriend decided to head home. He lived on the other side of town and had about a 20 minute drive. As Dave was left, Steph’s legs were starting to feel cramped and she was the sickest she had been all day. She decided to crawl into bed and get some much needed rest. Little did she know at the time, but the next hour was going to change her life forever.

Shortly after Dave left, the stomach cramps became unbearable and the moment that opened Steph’s eyes as to what was going on happened. Her water broke. It was at this moment that the last nine months of Steph’s life flashed before her eyes. She saw all the signs that should have made her realize what was coming, yet she brushed them off every time. She felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner what was happening, but it was too late now to worry about it.

In a panic, Steph got on her cell phone and called Dave. She knew she couldn’t tell him what was happening but had to get him to come back. As Dave was pulling into his driveway he got the phone call from Steph. She wanted to tell him what was happening but knew the news was too shocking to say over the phone. She told him she wasn’t feeling very well and he had to come back to her house to take her to the hospital. Being a great boyfriend, Dave did so with no questions asked. However, he was worried and wondered why she would call him and not get her parents to take her. He called the house phone and got her mother to go downstairs to check on her. He knew something just wasn’t right.

As soon as Steph’s mom received the call, she headed downstairs to see what was wrong with her daughter. She got down to the basement and opened Steph’s bedroom door and was shocked. There was her 23 year old daughter, sitting on her bed with a baby in her arms. Steph had given birth to the baby all by herself. They called an ambulance right away. Dave arrived around the same time as the ambulance. The paramedics delivered the placenta and cut the umbilical cord. Steph and Dave were the proud, yet shocked, parents of a baby girl.

The next day was a shopping spree like no other. Steph’s mom headed out to buy all the supplies a new mom might need. As Steph lay in the hospital, all she could think of was how she didn’t know, and how was she going to go back to school in a week. She was now a mom and had no time to prepare in her mind how she was going to do it. Luckily she had a supportive family and boyfriend who were going to help her every step of the way.

Steph came home with a healthy baby and tried to adjust to her new role as a mom. She hadn’t had time to wrap her mind around the whole concept, but they say there are maternal instincts that come naturally when you have a baby. As Steph and her mom sat watching a movie one night, the baby slept in Steph’s bedroom in her basinet. Steph asked her mom if it was weird to be worried about the baby since she couldn’t see her. Her mom told her that those feelings are the maternal instincts women get and there are lots more of those to come.

I attended a bridal shower with Steph a week before she gave birth and I never would have guessed she was pregnant. She had just gone back to university and was finally getting good marks and looking forward to finishing her degree. If you had asked her at the bridal shower if she would be able to raise a baby right now, she would have said definitely not. She didn’t have her life together, how could she take care of another life. Yet, when that baby was on its way into the world, Steph was able to take care of it during delivery and has been a great mom since.

There are things we think are impossible and we would never be capable of. But when we are put in a position with no other choice, our instincts kick into gear and surprise us. Steph’s maternal instincts kicked in that day and have helped her handle her new responsibility as a mother.