Rhea Martin was lounging at home with her boyfriend, Luke Melling, when her usual period cramps took a turn for the worse.
The saleswoman, 24, was experiencing agonising back pain, so Luke took her to the hospital and dropped her off at A&E.
She was stunned to discover that her back pain wasn’t due to her period, but caused by her currently being in labour.
Rhea had no idea she was pregnant, and fell unconscious out of shock.
When she woke up, she was in a different room, with a midwife telling her to ‘pull it together for her baby and push’.
With no time to call Luke or her parents and let them know the news, Rhea gave birth to Myles Melling, weighing 6lb 7oz, on October 20, while her family were clueless of what was going on.
‘Afterwards I called Luke and told him to come to the hospital, where I met him outside,’ said Rhea.
‘I told him there and then and the first thing he asked was if he was a boy, because he’s always wanted a son.’
Luke and Rhea are now overjoyed to have a son, but admit that the surprise birth was ‘quite traumatising’.
‘You go into hospital thinking you have serious back pain and a bad stomach ache caused by your period and come out with a baby,’ Rhea said.
‘We had no time to process anything or prepare so the last six weeks have been challenging and we’ve been so lucky to have amazing parents who have helped us out massively.
‘In the first week after Myles arrived we kept discussing plans to do as a couple, then we’d remember we had a baby and the things we used to do wouldn’t be so ideal for a baby to join.
‘It’s been a pretty surreal time but we wouldn’t change it for the world.’
Just a couple of days before giving birth, Rhea had visited A&E and been told her pain was due to a bad period.
Doctors gave her some painkillers and told her not to come back to the hospital with period issues when there’s a pandemic going on.
Rhea hoped the pain would just go away… but it turned out to be the start of labour.
She had no real signs she was pregnant over the previous nine months.
While her dress size had gone from an 8 to a 10, Rhea assumed the weight gain was due to spending more time at home in lockdown.
It turns out that Rhea’s baby was tucked away towards her back, meaning she didn’t see a bump.
Sadly, the new mum was made redundant after the first lockdown, and while she found a new job, the short amount of time she’s worked there means she doesn’t qualify for company maternity leave or pay.
Rhea said: ‘Financially it’s been a difficult time. We had already started saving for a home together but have struggled to put away as much as we had hoped to due to the Covid climate.
‘After coming out of hospital, I moved straight in with Luke at his dad’s house and we’ve been raising Myles there.
‘Obviously for the last four weeks we’ve been in a lockdown and since Luke is a personal trainer he’s been out of work so we’ve had a lot of time together in the house.
‘We’re really hoping to save enough to buy our own place next year but
it will mean Luke finding more work so it’s quite stressful.
‘We’re determined to give Myles the best start to life he can have, despite having absolutely no preparation.’
Luke said: ‘I was extremely shocked that I didn’t notice my own girlfriend was pregnant.
‘Especially being a personal trainer, I felt rather silly.
‘But Myles is the biggest blessing from what has been a strange year for us all.
‘We had a few hours to turn from a new couple to a family.
‘I love Rhea and can’t thank her enough for making me a father.’
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