A woman who thought she had a burst appendix was shocked when she found out she was pregnant – and gave birth 40 minutes later. Anna Jackson, 22, started getting a pain in her abdomen but put it down to period cramps. But when the pain started “gearing up” she feared she had a burst appendix and rushed to hospital with her partner Euan Smith, 22.
Doctors noticed “swelling” on her abdomen and asked her to take a pregnancy test – but Anna says she was still “clueless” when they said it was positive. She asked if they could do anything but was told she was in labour and was promptly taken to the labour ward. Anna gave birth to her daughter, Talia Smith, at 3.53am and weighing 7lbs on March 22, 2024 – just 40 minutes after finding out the news.
The new mum says it felt like an “episode of Grey’s Anatomy” for two or three weeks before reality hit. But both Talia, now eight-months-old, and Anna are happy and healthy and are settling into family life. Anna, who was working for a live music venue, from Stirling, Scotland, said: “I didn’t have any symptoms at all. I thought maybe I had an appendicitis and it had burst.
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Parents, Euan and Anna with their daughter Talia. -Credit:SWNS
“They think she was pressed right up against my spine. I think she was straight up and down and hidden. I was sitting there in shock.
“I kept repeating ‘OMG’. It took two to three weeks to come to reality. It felt like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.”
Anna had no symptoms leading up to the birth.She said: “I had quite bad acid reflux and if I ate I got really bloated. But I’m lactose intolerant so I thought I was eating too much dairy. It would go back down so I thought it was nothing. It was actually her moving around.”
Anna was living her life as normal – going to Amsterdam partying, drinking and eating all the foods doctors warn against – as she had no idea she was expecting. She hasn’t had any periods for the last few years due to her birth control. Anna said: “The hormonal changes I put down to it being my period for the month.”
But on March 21, 2024 Anna woke up in the early hours of the morning in pain. She said: “I thought I had bad period cramps.”
Anna went to work in Glasgow that day – and it wasn’t until towards the end of her shift that the pain got worse. She said: “It got to 10 or 11pm at night. That’s when it started really gearing up.”
Anna still drove herself home and woke Euan up when she got home – doubled over in pain. Euan’s mum, Karen, 58 – who the couple were living with at the time – saw how much pain she was in and got her an out of hours appointment. They arrived at Forth Valley Royal Hospital at 2.30am in the morning and were seen at around 3am – thinking it was a burst appendicitis or kidney stones.
Anna said: “They kept making jokes about being pregnant. I said ‘don’t be so silly’. All of a sudden I started waddling. They were doing all the tests. I had a little bit of a bump – I thought I was bloated. It wasn’t really bump shaped. It was high up.
“They asked if I’d had the swelling on my abdomen for long. It had only been two weeks at most.”
Baby Talia and father Euan -Credit:SWNS
Anna was asked to do a chemical pregnancy test and it came back as positive.She said: “I was sat there clueless. They asked ‘you know what that means’. I said ‘am I pregnant?’ They said yes. I asked ‘anything I can do?’ But they said ‘no you’re having the baby now’.”
Anna was in shock as doctors and nurses rushed into the room and she was taken to the A&E ward and told she was fully dilated.She was then taken up to the labour ward and had given birth to her baby just 40 minutes later.
Anna said: “It was really traumatic. I didn’t have time to think. This baby is coming whether you like it or not. She was totally healthy. There was nothing wrong with her.”
Little Talia was on a feeding tube for three days but then pulled through and she came home on March 28, 2024. Anna said: “Euan got over the shock pretty quickly. He went straight into dad mode.”
Euan Smith, 22 and Anna Jackson, 22 -Credit:SWNS
The couple said their family and community rallied around them gifting baby equipment. Anna said: “I was in auto pilot for the first few months. By the time she was four months it felt like we had caught up with that nine months of planning we would have had if we had known.
“It was difficult to get over at first. It’s empowering to know the worst possible scenario could happen but it’s fine – we’ve made it out the other side.”
Anna still feels she is adjusting but says Talia is a “big personality”. She said: “She’s loud and the centre of attention. She’s a very happy baby. She’s very curious. She’s definitely a wee firecracker.”