Pregnant and Didn’t Know It

I attended a 42 year old lady with severe abdominal pain a few years ago…

As part of my normal assessment of abdominal pain I palpated each quadrant of the abdomen. It was immediately clear to me that this lady didn’t have a gastric problem, but was pregnancy and her uterus was contracting regularly and forcefully – she was having a baby…

“Is there any chance you may be pregnant…” – I ask, tactfully… (if there is such a way to do this)

“No, I mean… I’m 42 there’s no way I could be pregnant… right?” – She responds…

“Hmm… if you look here… this is the top of your uterus… see how it is contracting with the pains that you’re having… I think you may be pregnant…” – I say, as sheepishly as a male paramedic telling a woman that he thinks she may be pregnant can be….

“No, that’s ridiculous… I mean, I’ve had 5 babies before… I think I’d know, don’t you?”

I went along with this… there was nothing more for me to do anyway… she still needed to go to hospital, and there, I’m sure a Doctor with more guts than me could explain to her that she was pregnant and having a baby…

We didn’t end up making it as far as the hospital, before mother nature decided to show herself…

“Something’s wrong… I can’t stop it… something’s coming out…”  – she says, almost in hysterics, as though an alien has decided to emerge…

Before she had time to pull her pants down the baby’s head had come out…