A teenager was shocked to find out she was nine months pregnant, despite having a flat stomach and being a size 8 at the time.
Saffron Heffer, 18, says she had no clue about the pregnancy until she noticed a strange mark on her stomach and took a pregnancy test at the suggestion of her mum.
It came back positive, but she still didn’t know exactly how far along she was until she went to the doctors; it was then she was told she was 37 weeks pregnant.
Aside from the mark, which turned out to be a pigmentation line, Saffron claims she showed no physical signs of pregnancy and had been going to the gym and going on sunbeds without knowing.
The 18-year-old, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, had missed periods but thought this was because of the pill she was on.
Saffron said:
It was a surprise for everyone. My mum was just as shocked as I am. I personally didn’t believe it was possible [to not know you were pregnant] until it happened to me.
People said it and I heard the stories and I thought they must have known. But until it happened to me I was completely oblivious.
An emergency midwife appointment confirmed her baby was back-to-back in her womb – and after her midwife twisted him around Saffron’s stomach ‘popped’ into a giant bump.
Amazingly, she went from having a perfectly-toned tummy to a giant bump within just a matter of days, due to the re-positioning.
Just six weeks after finding out she was pregnant, the retail assistant gave birth to her son, Oscar Heffer, at a healthy 8lb 1oz on June 3.
Despite the the unexpected arrival of her son, Saffron says she loves being a mum:
I just got on with it and a few weeks later he was born. I wouldn’t turn back now – he’s beautiful.
He’s perfect. If you had to ask for a perfect baby it would be him. He’s so content, he just sits and sleeps and cuddles. He’s so lovely.
Initially, the 18-year-old said she was terrified at the prospect of being a new mum and didn’t know how to respond. She said she thought her life had ended, but that now she wouldn’t change anything.
She said:
I was just hit with depression and thought what am I going to do? It was the shock – I didn’t know how to respond. After that two weeks I had the get-go mindset that it is what it is. You can’t change anything.
I was just like – right, okay, I can do this. I’ve been strong with other things before. This is a bit bigger, but I can do this. I just got on with it really.
After feeling lethargic for months and being told by doctors that she was anaemic and deficient in vitamin D and B12, Saffron never guessed she was pregnant.
In fact, she even lost weight – dropping from a size 10 to a size 8 – and believed she must be seriously ill as her symptoms weren’t improving.
She said:
At one point I thought I was dying because I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was so lethargic and sleepy, I didn’t want to go out, I didn’t want to see anybody.
I didn’t want to spend time with anyone ever because the littlest things annoyed me and got on my nerves and I didn’t know what to do.
Saffron said Oscar didn’t start becoming active until her first midwife appointment, when she changed his position.
She described the moment as ‘unreal,’ saying that, from then on, she could feel his every movement and every kick.
She said:
It was so strange. From feeling nothing at all to feeling everything daily is just unreal. I do miss the feeling though, I have to say.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to stories@unilad.co.uk.
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).