How can one miss the telltale signs of nausea and exhaustion when one is, erm, expecting without realising that one is expecting? One such miracle experience is shared by a UK-based woman who gave birth to a miracle baby boy she didn’t know she was carrying until she went into labour. Annie Evans, 39, was told she was unlikely to ever have children after years of using contraceptive injection. So, when she did become pregnant, she believed her symptoms were down to suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and the start of the menopause.

On March 29, Annie woke in the early hours of the morning with what she though was stomach cramps but only realised she was giving birth after her baby’s head appeared. She had no idea that she was pregnant until she gave birth. As reported, Annie says, “I just never though having kids would be an option for me. Although I can’t believe what’s happened I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Annie explains she’d been feeling ‘tired and sluggish’ before the shock birth. “I had also been struggling to breathe but the baby was sitting up under my ribs and that’s why my stomach had not changed shape that much. I had no idea what was happening until the head appeared and I called my mum to ring for an ambulance” she explains.

Baby Lionel, named after Annie’s deceased father, was born still inside the amniotic sac which the new mum had to tear open herself before paramedics arrived to cut the cord. Annie said, “I had to open the sac myself and when I heard him cry it was the biggest relief, I knew that he was okay.” She further said, “The paramedics arrived, and they were worried about getting me down the stairs, but I walked while I held him, and they cut the cord in the ambulance.” Lionel was born on Annie’s bed at her mum’s house.

All throughout her pregnancy, Lionel had been sitting on Annie’s diaphragm with the placenta in front, masking him inside the womb and hence, she felt limited movements. After feeling down due to work redundancy Annie had been to the doctors for a check-up but one realised was pregnant. Strange, isn’t it? Caul Births, where the baby remains inside the sac, are extremely rare, occurring in around 1 in 80,000 births. Woah! The pair spent a week in hospital to make sure Lionel was happy and healthy after his surprise delivery.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2018 10:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).