I gave birth on the second day of my holiday – I had no idea I was pregnant & my family thought it was a Photoshop prank
A WOMAN suffering stomach pains on holiday was left shocked after realising she was actually going into labour – when she had no idea she was even pregnant.
Anneli Risberg, then 44, from Sweden went on the summer break to Majorca with her partner Mats Gustavsson, then 46, and Mats’ brother and his wife back in 2018.
Anneli and Mats had been dating for a few years and had just taken the big step of deciding to move in together.
The couple planned to see Anneli’s two children from her previous marriage every other week and then enjoy traveling and exploring with the rest of their time.
The pair arrived at the hotel and spent the first two days soaking up the sun and supping cocktails.
On the second day Anneli had a swim in the pool and then went to the bar to grab a drink.
She felt a strange sensation trickling down her leg and realised that she was peeing herself.
Embarrassed, she dashed up to her room to go and change her clothes but in the lift on the way up got a stabbing pain in her stomach.
Most read in Fabulous
She decided to take herself off to bed to rest and hoped that the pain would subside.
Mats, who had been getting into the holiday spirit and had had a number of drinks by this point came up to check on his girlfriend only to find that she was going into labour.
Anneli, now 47, said: “I didn’t have any of the typical signs of pregnancy so I had no idea that I was carrying a baby. I hadn’t gained any weight or experienced anything else that would give me an indication.
“I have two sons who are 10 and 14, so I know what it feels like to be pregnant but this caught me completely off guard. I was in complete shock when I realised what was going on.”
Mats, now 50, said: “We hadn’t planned to have a baby and this was my first child. I had been down at the bar with the rest of our group all afternoon and I was pretty drunk.
“When Anneli first said she was in labour I laughed! I couldn’t believe it was possible when we were using contraceptive injections which are supposed to be 97 per cent safe and effective.”
What is a cryptic pregnancy?
A cryptic pregnancy is where conventional medical testing methods fail to detect when a person is expecting, according to Healthline.
Also known as a stealth pregnancy, cryptic pregnancies are considered rare and women who experience a pregnancy of this kind tend not to show typical symptoms of pregnancy, including vomiting, fatigue, nausea or abdominal swelling resembling a bump.
Women can appear to have regular periods too, as fluctuating hormones can lead to slight bleeding that resembles menstruation.
Chaos broke out at the hotel when the reality of the situation finally sunk in and Mats dashed down to reception to ask for their help.
The stunned hotel staff called an ambulance and Anneli was taken to the emergency vehicle on a stretcher and Mats followed closely behind in a taxi.
Anneli said: “The nurse in the ambulance didn’t speak any English and it was difficult to make myself understood.
“I was so distressed not being able to communicate. It was worrying listening to the instructions in Spanish and having no idea what was being said.”
Baby William was born in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Anneli stayed on the ward to recover afterward and luckily shared a room with a mother who spoke seven languages and could act as a translator.
She said: “I was in total shock. We had gone away for a relaxed holiday with a suitcase packed full of bikinis and now we needed to buy all the basic kit you need for a baby.”
FABULOUS BINGO: GET A £5 FREE BONUS WITH NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED
In addition to procuring a car seat, clothes, wipes and all the other things you need for a newborn, they had to sort out the paperwork so they could get William a passport and take him back home to Sweden.
Ironing out the paperwork took some time so the new trio had to extend the holiday in order to sort it all out.
But the couple’s next challenge was getting their families to believe they had had a baby.
Mats started by calling his brother, who was back at the hotel, to tell him the shocking news but he thought it was just a practical joke and hung up the phone on him several times.
The rest of the family were equally disbelieving and even accused the pair of creating a Photoshop prank.
In the end, Mats had to make a video from the hospital and send it to the family in Sweden who finally came round to the idea that it wasn’t a joke.
A lot of people chipped in to help the couple with their unexpected arrival.
Mats said: “People offered help in so many different ways, clothes for William, practical advice, even a cot so we could bring him back to the hotel and it made things so much easier.”
For more real life stories, one girl revealed “I didn’t know I was pregnant until I went to A&E thinking I had terrible constipation and my waters broke”.
Plus, a woman shared “doctors said I was HIV positive and then my boyfriend left me – later I was told they’d got my diagnosis very wrong”.
And one mum said “I’m a mum-of-four and lost all my teeth as I was too skint for the dentist, now I teach people to embrace their dentures“.