California teen gives birth in shower, walks to hospital
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A 17-year-old girl gave birth secretly at home, then walked four blocks to a hospital with the baby still attached by its umbilical cord.
“I was just a little nervous” when the labor began, Xochitl Parra said Friday from St. Mary Medical Center as she cradled her 8-pound, 3-ounce son, Alejandro.
The boy was normal and “eating like a champ,” said Dr. Jose Perez, director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The teenager said she was alone and taking a shower around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to get ready for school. Then the contractions took over.
“I felt his head coming, so I sit down and pushed so he could come out,” she said.
Parra did not call 911 because the home phone was disconnected, and she did not want to wake the neighbors because it was so early. Instead, she wrapped the baby, got dressed and went to the hospital on foot. (More of the story and a photo at Yahoo News)
Lots of folks find it hard to believe a teen could hide a pregnancy for 9 months, but it’s not as unusual as you might think. You can’t do it if you are rail thin, but heavier teens have an advantage in that folks just think they are gaining more weight. The oversize t-shirt look helps, too.
I had one teen patient some 20 years back who managed to hide her pregnancy even as she made time trials for the swim team one week before delivering a full term infant. This young woman was tall and stocky to start, and the coach just thought she was gaining weight. Her pediatrician didn’t even consider the diagnosis of pregnancy when she presented to him in labor – he sent her to the ER as a possible appendicitis.
By the way, she also managed to keep her A average throughout the pregnancy. As I told the shocked and ashamed mom, this was one pretty amazing girl. I don’t think I could have accomplished what she had at age 16 while pregnant, let alone holding that secret for 9 months.
I saw this story too and was amazed that she managed to keep it secret and then deliver alone. While I marveled at all that, I couldn’t help but grieve that she/her baby didn’t get prenatal care and to be grateful that it was an “easy” delivery (uncomplicated by cord, etc). Sad that these girls feel they have to hide this secret and have no adult they feel safe confiding to.
You’re absolutely right, Ramona. It’s simultaneously amazing and tragic. I’ve seen several cases of girls who didn’t know (or claimed not to know) they were pregnant until they went into labor… so sometimes it isn’t even not having anyone to confide in, but not even knowing something was going on. Hard to believe until you see it…
I had a cousin who did the same thing as the swimmer (but without the A average). She was in the middle of telling her parents when her waters broke, and the baby was born 2 hours later. She thought she was only 7 months as well, so it was a double surprise.
I know someone who was 32, married and thin. She had severe abdominal pain and her husband thought she was dying. He called 911 and she delivered a healthy full term baby.(6#) No joke. They thought she was getting heavy. She had even seen a doctor at about 5 months who thought her liver was enlarged. The husband had 3 kids from a prior marriage and they were totally surprised to be parents. Hard to imagine, but true.