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  • 6 months ago
I GAVE BIRTH 10 HOURS AFTER FINDING OUT I WAS PREGNANT

With VID AND PIX

By Todd Sasin and Hannah Hodgetts

A young woman revealed how, at just 16 years old, she gave birth to her first child just ten hours after learning she was pregnant.

Verity McConnell was enjoying a regular Saturday night at a friend’s birthday party until her life quickly changed.

The then teenager from Aberdeen, Scotland, started to experience severe stomach cramps and, believed it was her period or a stomach-ache. She tried to sleep it off - but the pain kept intensifying.

She said: “It just didn't feel right, just like something was off and then I started getting really bad stomach cramps.

“Every time I kept trying to go to sleep I couldn't, like it was so sore.

“At this point we're all probably just like ‘oh no it's nothing’.”

After the pain intensified throughout the night, Verity woke her mum and sister who rushed her to the local maternity hospital.

Unaware of what was happening, Verity faced the life-changing news that she was pregnant and already in labour!

Still in complete shock, the teenager gave birth to a healthy baby girl the next morning at 10:30am.

With no preparation for motherhood, the hospital provided everything - from clothing to nappies - to help care for the newborn.

Now 27 years old, Verity reflected on her birth story as her daughter is now 11 years old.

She added: “I’m lying there. I'm 16, I'm terrified and she [the nurse] looks at me and looks at my mum and she goes, there is definitely a baby in there and you are going to have it very soon.

“I've had no scans, I've had no tests, I've had no midwife appointments, I've had no checks, nothing.

“I think because everything was like such a rush and I was basically just running on pure adrenaline, I managed to give birth.

“She was seven pounds, seven ounces, so she wasn't even that small and I did all with just gas and air and pure adrenaline.

“I didn't have anything for this baby, not a single thing.

“My baby had to wear clothes that were donated to the hospital and nappies from the hospital.”

ENDS

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Transcript
00:00I gave birth to my first baby at the age of 16, 10 hours after finding out that I was pregnant.
00:06And I am going to tell you the story of how that happened.
00:10So bear in mind, this was 10 years ago, nearly 11 years ago now.
00:14So some of the details will be a little bit hazy and not quite clear because, yeah, it was a long time ago.
00:23And to me, it seems completely just normal.
00:26But obviously, when I tell other people, they're like, no way, what the hell?
00:30So it was a Saturday night and I was at a friend's birthday party at their house.
00:36Fine, just like normal 16 year old going to house party, whatever.
00:41And I remember going home and I think it must have been around 11 ish, maybe later, I want to say.
00:49And just like going to bed and I was like, oh, I don't feel well.
00:52Like, I just didn't feel right. Like, just like something was off.
00:56And then I started getting like really bad stomach cramps.
01:00And to be honest, I just thought I had a sore tummy or like my period was coming or something.
01:03For reference, yes, I did have like really unusual cycles and never a regular cycle.
01:08So like my whole teenage years.
01:10So I was still having what I thought were periods every month.
01:14But like they only lasted like two or two days, if that.
01:17And like I just didn't think I had anything all of it because I was 16.
01:21So I remember like going to the toilet and then being like, oh, I'll be fine.
01:24I'll just go back to my bed.
01:26I went back to my bed and then like my stomach cramps were getting like more often and like more painful.
01:32And I was like, just go to sleep.
01:34Just go to sleep.
01:34It'll be fine.
01:35Like, just go to sleep.
01:36But every time I kept trying to go to sleep, like I couldn't, like it was so sore.
01:40I couldn't go to sleep.
01:41And then I was like, oh my God, I'm going to have to go in and tell my mom that I don't feel well.
01:45Like I'm going to have to go wake her up.
01:47And I was like so nervous to wake my mom up because at that age, like you're like, oh my God,
01:52I can't believe I've got to wake my mom up, tell her I don't feel well.
01:54So embarrassing.
01:55So I finally mustered up the courage to go and tell my mom that I wasn't feeling well.
02:00And yeah, come back to the next part.
02:03Part three of how I gave birth 10 hours after finding out I was pregnant at the age of 16.
02:08So I lied out on the bed and it's all very quiet.
02:14We're not really sure what's going on.
02:15I'm lying there.
02:17I'm 16.
02:18I'm terrified.
02:19And she looks at me and looks at my mom and she goes, there is definitely a baby in there
02:27and you are going to have it very soon.
02:30Something along those lines.
02:32And we were like, bit of mind, I could roughly guess how far along I could be.
02:41I've had no scans.
02:43I've had no blood tests.
02:44I've had no midwife appointments.
02:46I've had no checks, nothing.
02:48And I was also experiencing really bad migraines in like the four or five months before that.
02:54So I'd not long started on this medication for my migraines.
02:58And they basically had to do like a full history, like basically everything you would do in the
03:03nine months of pregnancy, they had to do it like there and then.
03:07And because of that medication, it actually increases the risk of babies being born with
03:13a cleft palate.
03:14But to be honest, I wasn't even really thinking about that.
03:17I don't actually think anyone was thinking about that.
03:20So because I hadn't had any scans and they weren't entirely sure how far along I was,
03:25I was taken along to the scanning room.
03:29But bear in mind, it's now probably about one in the morning and the scanning department is shut.
03:35Where like the labour ward is in my local maternity hospital to where the scanning department is,
03:40it's not far of a walk if you're not pregnant and you're not in labour.
03:46When you're obviously in labour, it's a walk.
03:51But they really wanted to do a scan.
03:53Like they just were adamant they were doing this scan.
03:56Because, yeah, that was, I don't know.
03:58I don't actually think they really knew what to do.
04:00So they wanted to do the scan.
04:02Come back for part four.
04:05This is part six of how I gave birth ten hours after finding out I was pregnant at the age of 16.
04:12So I think because everything was like such a rush and I was basically just running on pure adrenaline,
04:19I managed to give birth to a wonderful baby girl who is now 11 years old at half past ten on the Sunday morning.
04:29She was £7.7 ounces, so she wasn't even that small.
04:35And I did it all with just gas and air.
04:39I'm pure adrenaline, nothing else.
04:41But obviously because I didn't know I was pregnant, I didn't have anything for this baby.
04:46Not a single thing.
04:48So normally when you have a baby, you go to hospital with a bag of clothes and nappes, etc.
04:53My baby had to wear clothes that were donated to the hospital and nappes from the hospital.
04:58And I think if I remember rightly, by this point my mum had phoned my dad and told him and obviously my dad was in complete shock.
05:09I'm pretty sure my mum had phoned my granny, so her mum, and her brothers and they all knew.
05:17And they didn't live too far from us, they lived in Dundee, so it's only about an hour from Aberdeen.
05:21So my family knew, but bear in mind I was 16 and I hadn't told any of my friends and I was so scared to tell them.
05:34But my family came up, my granny got clothes, my mum had got stuff.
05:39It was just amazing, the baby had a full wardrobe and everything by the end of the day.
05:44And luckily the baby was completely healthy, she was just absolutely fine, nothing coming over at all.
05:51We stayed in that labour ward for a little bit and then I was taken to the postnatal ward and I was very lucky that I was given a room on my own.
06:00Come back for part 7.
06:14Welcome back.
06:30Welcome back.
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