Mia Louise Bruce, now 22, thought she was struggling with period pains and constipation when she went to the toilet, but instead gave birth to an 8lb baby despite having no bump
A young woman has shared the terrifying moment she gave birth on the toilet after thinking her labour pains were constipation. Mia Louise Bruce, now 22, has spoken out about her experience of a rare ‘cryptic pregnancy’, revealing how repeated visits to doctors failed to detect she was expecting a baby.
Instead, she only discovered the truth in the most dramatic way possible when she went into labour at home and delivered her daughter on the toilet – despite having no visible bump and still getting regular periods. Mia says her ordeal began months earlier, in 2022, when she was repeatedly unwell.
After suffering a kidney infection, she went on to develop a chest infection and later contracted Covid, leaving her immune system weakened and her health spiralled. She also began experiencing persistent stomach problems, but despite raising concerns with medical professionals, pregnancy was never identified as a possibility.
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“I didn’t have a bump, I got all my periods on the pill,” she explained in a TikTok video. At one point, she told her GP her stomach felt “rock solid”, but was instead tested for intolerances, allergies and coeliac disease.
Blood tests later showed she was iron deficient, and she was prescribed supplements. By that stage, she believes she was already around five or six months pregnant.
By May, Mia, from Coventry, had started a new job and was still unaware she was about to give birth. She recalls going into work in severe pain, believing she had started her period.
As the day went on, the pain intensified, but she managed to complete her shift before heading home. That night, the pain became unbearable.
“I was in so much pain I couldn’t even lift my head up,” she said, describing how she spent hours unable to move from the sofa. Initially fearing appendicitis or severe constipation, her condition worsened to the point her mother called NHS 111 for help.
What happened next would change her life forever. Mia went to the toilet, believing she needed to relieve herself from constipation, but instead went into labour.
“I was pushing and pushing in agony, and then relief came out,” she said. Moments later, she heard a noise. “I thought it was a cat… then I realised there was a baby in the toilet crying.”
Her mother, initially expecting something far smaller, was confronted with a full-term newborn weighing 8lb 8oz.
Emergency services were called immediately as paramedics confirmed both Mia and the newborn had sepsis. Multiple ambulances, paramedic cars, police and even an air ambulance were dispatched to the scene.
Mia was critically ill and drifting in and out of consciousness. Both she and her newborn daughter had developed the life threatening condition with her mother being told it was “touch and go”.
“I just passed out on the toilet,” she said. Paramedics quickly administered fluids, antibiotics and emergency treatment before transporting mother and baby to hospital separately.
On arrival, Mia was met by dozens of doctors waiting to treat her. Cryptic pregnancies – where a person is unaware they are pregnant until very late or even until labour – are rare but medically recognised.
They can occur for a variety of reasons, including continued bleeding mistaken for periods, lack of visible bump and symptoms being attributed to other conditions.
In Mia’s case, she continued taking the pill meaning her periods remained. She has since urged others to trust their instincts when it comes to their health, particularly if something feels wrong.
Despite the trauma, Mia says her daughter – now three years old – is “the best thing that’s ever happened” to her. She is raising her child as a single parent, and says the experience has completely transformed her life.
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