Charlotte gave birth just 17 hours after finding out she was pregnant... a rare condition meant she had no idea she had been carrying a baby for nine months
Charlotte Summers, 20, said the uncommon condition means a person does not realise they are expecting until the later stages of pregnancy.
Before delivering her healthy son in June, Ms Summers said she noticed she had gained weight and gone up two sizes in jeans, but she believed it was due to stress.
'I was still buying size eight clothes,' she said in a TikTok video.
'Obviously, I gained a bit of a pudge, I guess. But I am in a two-and-a-half year relationship, I just kind of assumed it was a bit of happy relationship weight.
'I was also going through a lot of stressful things in my life at the time.'
But when she visited a GP on June 6 with concerns about gluten sensitivity, she was asked to do a pregnancy test.
The GP confirmed she was pregnant just minutes later but reassured her it felt 'very early along'.
She believed the pregnancy went unnoticed because the placenta rested at the front of her womb.
Ms Summers had also continued her regular use of birth control and continued to menstruate throughout the pregnancy.
She revealed she was sent for an ultrasound and told to come back later to discuss her options.
Her partner's family helped arrange a same-day ultrasound at their local hospital, where medical staff discovered the baby was due sooner than anyone had thought.
'They were like, 'So you're measuring 38 weeks and four days',' Ms Summers said.
'At that point, you can pretty much understand, I kind of blacked out. I just grabbed my stuff, rang my partner and I was like, "Hey, we gotta go".'
Doctors then told the couple there was no fluid around the baby, and they may have to induce labour. But Ms Summers had already left the hospital.
'They tried to reach me but they didn't have my phone number… they ended up ringing my partner's cousin,' she said.
That night, Ms Summers and her partner returned to hospital.
'I was on my hands and knees throwing up because I was like, "There's no way this is happening right now",' she said.
Shortly after, her water broke and she entered labour for two hours.
'I pushed for seven minutes and then my son was here. Again, I blacked out. I didn't really comprehend what was going on,' Ms Summers said.
Ms Summers said she had just 17 hours and 21 minutes' notice between discovering she was pregnant and welcoming her healthy son.
'The body is crazy,' she said.
Cryptic pregnancy is a rare condition, and the affected person may continue to experience what appears to be regular menstruation, show little or no visible weight gain, and feel no noticeable fetal movement.
A 12-month population study in Berlin found one in every 475 pregnancies involved cryptic pregnancy to 20 weeks, and one in every 2,500 to full term.
Ms Summers said some had doubted her story in the past and accused her of lying.
She showed hospital documents from Queensland Health diagnosing a 'concealed pregnancy', and records confirming her ultrasound and delivery.
'Long story short, I'm happy, healthy, me and my partner love being parents and yeah,' Ms Summers said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Who will join my Dunkirk cheese raid and break the blockade?
When I was pregnant with my first son I cast my eye over the long NHS list of verboten foods and my eyes alighted on 'soft cheeses made from unpasteurised milk'. Adding insult to injury, I was also informed that blue cheese was off the menu unless part of a recipe where it was heated to a temperature that killed bacteria. As you might expect of any rational woman with a halfway discerning palate, I muttered: 'I'd rather stick a fork in my eye.' I then looked up the risk posed by listeria infection to healthy women in the UK and found it was very low (currently around 0.23 cases per 100,000 women). I remembered the women of Sparta who laid weedy newborns out at the Apothetae – a cave at the foot of Mount Taygetus – to test their viability in the face of the elements and thought I'm just exposing this kid to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune early. So, I continued to feast on Camembert, Roquefort, Berthaut Epoisses de Bourgogne and delectable gooey goats cheese. I had such bad morning sickness that very few foods weren't immediately disgorged, with the exception of sour dough, full fat dairy products and proper English orchard apples. The pregnant body is a ruthless dictator and knows what it wants to build a vital young human. But thank heavens I'm not pregnant in the summer of 2025, as a full-scale fromage crisis threatens our shores. It seems that an outbreak of bovine lumpy skin disease in France and Italy has led 'overzealous' Defra bureaucrats to impose a temporary ban on importing any unpasteurised cheeses made in the two countries after May 23. This means a sudden scrabble to secure cheese produced before that date or a pasteurised version, which in turn means complex paperwork, in mother tongues, that border officials seem unable to process until the product is spoilt. In turn, this means the UK's finest delis and restaurants are running out of their most delectable, sought-after offerings, although there's zero evidence that there's any threat to human health. Meanwhile, our French cousins can carry on savouring divinely-tasty unpasteurised Brie de Meaux, while yelling at us from Calais: 'Let them eat Cheddar!' I don't think there's been a bigger threat to the rivalrous nations' precarious, on-off entente cordiale since the 2022 World Cup quarter-final match, when France carried the day (and poor Harry Kane missed a penalty). Personally, I can cede a footie match, but deny me my soft cheese and I might turn nasty. But what this sorry tale really illustrates is the stupendous idiocy of the bureaucrats and politicians in charge of our food policies. We have just signed a trade deal with the US that may pave the way for all kinds of intestine-challenging gunk. Yet faced with a mouth-watering slice of Ossau-Iraty that poses no known threat to public health, British administrators are behaving like cheese-denying surrender monkeys.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Ozempic-like fat jabs ‘boost men's sex lives – reversing testosterone drops'
WEIGHT loss jabs could boost men's sex lives, a study suggests. Research found injections like Wegovy and Mounjaro can raise blokes' low testosterone levels. 1 The hormone is a big factor in the male sex drive, known as libido, as well as a driver of strength, muscle gain and fat loss. Testosterone levels commonly decline with age or when someone is obese or has type 2 diabetes – amounting to millions of men in the UK. A study by the St Louis University Hospital in Missouri, USA, tracked 110 men in their 40s, 50s and 60s who were being treated with semaglutide – aka Ozempic or Wegovy – or tirzepatide, known as Mounjaro. At the start of their treatment just 53 per cent of the men had normal testosterone levels. Symptoms of low testosterone can include tiredness, weakness and fat gain, feeling depressed, brain fog, and a lack of desire or inability to perform in the bedroom. Treatment increased rate of healthy testosterone After 18 months of treatment with the fat jabs, the proportion of men with healthy hormone levels increased to 77 per cent. Study author Dr Shellsea Portillo Canales said: 'Our study is among the first to provide compelling evidence that low testosterone can be reversed with the use of commonly prescribed anti-obesity medications. 'Doctors and their patients can now consider this class of medications not only for the treatment of obesity and to control blood sugar, but also to benefit men's reproductive health.' More than 1.5million Brits are thought to be taking weight loss injections, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. NHS prescriptions have rocketed from 1.4million in 2023 to 2.7million in 2024, and more than a million people are paying for them privately. I went from 27 lbs in six weeks with Mounjaro after 15 years of trying to lose weight it has completely changed my life As well as rapid weight loss and treatment for type 2 diabetes, research suggests the jabs may also reduce the risk of some cancers, heart diseases and dementia. Everything you need to know about fat jabs Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases. Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK. Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market. Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year. How do they work? The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight. They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists. They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high. Can I get them? NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics. Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure. GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss. Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk. Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health. Are there any risks? Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild. Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea. Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at said: 'One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.' Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia. Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health. Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Measles death shows nation must ‘redouble' vaccine efforts, Streeting says
The death of a child from measles in Liverpool shows that the nation needs to 'redouble its efforts' to vaccinate more children, according to Wes Streeting. The Health Secretary stressed that vaccines 'save lives' and said the Government will be carrying out work throughout the remainder of the year to boost uptake. It follows reports over the weekend that a youngster, who was ill with measles and other health problems and was receiving treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, had died. The Health Secretary appeared in front of MPs on Monday as the Health and Social Care Committee scrutinised the Government's 10-year health plan. When asked by Labour MP Danny Beales if the Government is doing enough to increase child vaccination rates, Mr Streeting said: 'Firstly, no child in this country should be dying of measles. 'And I'm extremely sorry to the poor family that's now grieving the loss of a child in those circumstances. 'This is why we have got to redouble our efforts on vaccination, and to make the case – and some of the improvements in the 10-year plan will help, in terms of having digital records of children's health that parents can check into the digital red book – that'll be really good. 'So it means on moments like, over the weekend, where someone's read an awful case in the media, parents can just quickly log on and think actually, did we get that jab? 'Are we up to date on our vaccinations? And we can also proactively invite people to vaccination. 'But we'll be doing a lot more on this throughout the remainder of the year in terms of trying to get vaccination uptakes, it saves lives.' Mr Beales highlighted that additional investment will be needed to increase vaccine uptake 'to get those areas that are 30% below the highest levels of vaccination in the country up to where they should be'. Mr Streeting replied: 'And we do have significant resource already attached to public health information campaigns.' He vowed to write to the committee 'given the profile of this at the moment to share the work that we'll be doing to drive our vaccination rates'. Measles is highly infectious and can lead to serious complications. People with this infection have a number of cold and flu-like symptoms and a rash appears a few days after symptoms start. On rare occasions, measles can also lead to meningitis and brain swelling, which can cause long-term disabilities or even death. A statement published by Alder Hey on Sunday said it would not comment on individual cases, but that the hospital is 'concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles'. Alder Hey said it has treated 17 children since June for the effects and complications of the disease. Since January 1 2025, there have been 529 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, according to UKHSA data which was released on July 3. NHS England figures covering 2023/24 show that not a single vaccine met the target needed to ensure diseases cannot spread among youngsters. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says to achieve herd immunity – which stops illnesses transmitting across the population – at least 95% of children should receive their set of vaccine doses for each illness. Figures shows 91.9% of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, the lowest level since 2010/11, while just 83.9% had received both doses, the lowest since 2009/10. Uptake of the first MMR dose at 24 months stood at 88.9% in 2023/24 – again, the lowest since 2009/10. In Liverpool, 73.4% of children received both doses of their MMR vaccine by their fifth birthday. Reacting to reports over the weekend, Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, assistant professor of global health and development at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said: 'The child death in Liverpool is a tragic reminder that measles is not benign and can lead to serious complications including inflammation of the brain and death. 'Since 2023-25 we have been in a cycle of nasty measles outbreaks, indicating that the years of declining coverage are culminating in a new normal that no child needs to live with. 'Liverpool is home to neighbourhoods that are among the most deprived in England. 'Declining coverage in Liverpool and nationwide is happening amidst a relentless cost-of-living crisis, characterised by a generational decline in living standards, continued austerity and unequal pandemic recovery. 'Public health cannot hope for vaccination coverage to improve, it needs sustained resources to offer flexible services that work with parents as they are pushed to the brink by precarity and to fund the communications required to engage with diverse communities.'
