A teenager who went to bed with a headache and fell into a coma woke up four days later to the surprise news that she’d become a mother.
Ebony Stevenson, 18, did not know she was pregnant and simply thought she was feeling unwell when she went to bed early on December 2.
But the headache quickly got worse and Stevenson suffered five seizures, leading to her being rushed to Royal Oldham Hospital and put into a medically induced coma.
The Sports Physiotherapy student didn’t have a bump, experienced no morning sickness and had not missed a period.
This was because Stevenson has two uteruses, a condition called uterus didelphys which is thought to affect one in every 3,000 women.
Only one of Stevenson’s uteruses had a fallopian tube to carry an egg, which meant her chances of conception were very low.
Paramdeics told her mother Sheree that her daughter had suffered from preeclampsia – a pregnancy complication which causes high blood pressure and can damage organs – which had caused the seizures.
They told her Stevenson was pregnant and said that the baby needed to be delivered right away.
Sheree said: “It was a strange moment because I had no time to prepare for it.”
Stevenson underwent an emergency caesarean on Monday 3 December and gave birth to a baby girl, just over three hours after the first seizure.
Stevenson woke three days later to discover she had given birth and was suddenly a mum to a baby girl, who she decided to name Elodie.
She said: “I didn’t think I even wanted kids, at least not for another 10 years and never expected to be a young mum.
“Waking up from a coma to be told I had been pregnant and had given birth to a baby girl was overwhelming to say the least.
“Meeting my baby was so surreal. It felt like an out of body experience.
“I worried I wouldn’t bond with my daughter because I had no time to get my head around her arrival, but I think she’s amazing.
Stevenson said that as soon as she woke she was given the baby to hold, but she quickly asked for it to be taken away.
She said: “It sounds awful now, but I asked them to take her away as I was so confused and sure they’d made a mistake.
“Although I was so confused – and pretty scared – it was a beautiful moment and she was so quiet.”
Sheree said: “The doctors said that Elodie was a miracle baby, as women with her condition often struggle to conceive or carry to full-term.”
Elodie was born at 7lbs 10ozs and family returned home on December 13, 11 days after being rushed to hospital.
Stevenson said: “Although I had no time to prepare, I wouldn’t change what’s happened for the world.
“I’m so excited to wake up and see her every morning, and to get to spend another day with my precious little miracle.”