Aussie mum had ‘no idea’ she was pregnant

A FAR Northern couple have had their lives changed forever with the surprise and speedy birth of a baby on a bathroom floor.

Mareeba woman Amber Smith was in the shower early on April 15 when she suddenly felt "tensing" in her stomach.

The 18-year-old claims she then saw "a huge stream of water and pink liquid" thinking her water had broken even though she was "not pregnant".

"Then a wave of pain and contractions came over me, I screamed at the top of my lungs," she said.

Ms Smith said her fiance, Blairdon Nicol, came running and quickly discovered there was a baby on the way.

"I told him, 'I think I'm in labour' and he looked down and he saw a head," she said.

Within just 10 minutes a baby boy was delivered into Mr Nicol's arms on the shower floor.

The young couple have named their "miracle baby" Cooper Allen-Robert Woods.

He was born at 1.22am on April 15, 2020, weighing 3.06kg.

Ms Smith claims she had absolutely "no idea" she was pregnant and, despite the huge shock, was loving being a mum.

"I have always had irregular periods so I had no idea I was pregnant," she said.

"I had no symptoms at all except a tiny increase in my stomach, which I thought was just because I was eating too much.

"My son and I are doing great. I am slowly but surely understanding and learning how to be a mother with the loving support of both our families."

The couple have posted about the surprise pregnancy and home delivery on Facebook.

They have received an overwhelming amount of support.

"I saw you a couple days ago? What? Congratulations," Hannah McGarrie said.

"Wow Amber, what a big surprise," Ruth Smith said.

"Oh wow, what a surprise. Congratulations Amber, I hope you enjoy every moment of motherhood," Macen Gibson said.

While it may be hard to believe that a woman can go through a pregnancy and not know, Cairns paediatrician Dr Arno Ebner said it was entirely possible, estimated to occur in one in 2500 pregnancies.

"It's probably more common than people will think," he said.

"It's always hard to imagine for people, but certainly in my career as a paediatrician I have seen it maybe three or four times when I was still working in the hospital."

The phenomenon is more common in first pregnancies and in women with strong abdominal muscles, which means the baby is positioned closer to the spine.

Originally published as Far North mum had 'no idea' she was pregnant