A teen who blamed her stomach ache on being constipated found out she was actually pregnant when she gave birth alone in her bedroom. Niomi Thomas was on a nursery placement last year when she started experiencing back and stomach aches but shrugged it off as constipation or period pains so took some pain killers.
But the next morning her pain worsened to the extent she could barely stand and when she lay on her bed felt a sudden urge to push and gave birth to her daughter Talia Thomas. The 18-year-old claims it was a 'shocking discovery' given she had no idea she was expecting as she had no symptoms throughout her pregnancy, took contraception daily and still had periods.
Nine months on from her surprise delivery, Niomi is reassuring others who have experienced cryptic pregnancies that they're 'not alone'. Photos captured by Niomi show her a fortnight before she gave birth with no sign of a baby bump and then ones of little Talia wrapped in a towel in her bedroom not long after she was delivered.
Niomi said: "I had no idea I was pregnant until I gave birth. It was a very crazy and shocking discovery. It sounds a bit silly because usually your periods stop, you get a bump and morning sickness and loads of different things, but I literally had nothing.
"My periods were still coming and going and I've always had irregular ones, so I just thought that was normal because that's how I've had them for quite a few years now. I didn't feel anything different. I just knew that I'd put on a bit of weight and was obviously quite upset about that but I didn't think it was pregnancy because it didn't look like it was a pregnancy gain as such.
"I was on the pill and took it every day. I never felt any movements and everyone was like 'how did you not feel her?' .
"They said that the placenta was in front so every time she was kicking she wasn't kicking me so it wasn't coming through to my stomach."
At the time, Niomi was just 17-years-old and completing an apprenticeship as a nursery nurse. Niomi said: "The day before I was working and thought I had my period, so I was having a lot of bad back and stomach pains which is normal for me when I have my period.
"It got to the point where I couldn't work anymore so I went home. Overnight it got progressively worse and obviously looking back at it now, that was labour.
"I thought it was just constipation at the time because everyone [mother, neighbour and 111 operator] was like 'it might be constipation'. Because I thought I was on my period, I thought it was a combination of both.
