This Mom Didn't Know She Was Pregnant—Until She Gave Birth on the Toilet

It may sound gross, but apparently, it's true: People who give birth vaginally often say pushing the baby out feels like pooping. One woman recently took that to a whole new level earlier this year, and her story, fit for the one-time TV series I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, has now gone viral.

Lucy Jones, a 22-year-old flight attendant trainee from Bristol, England, went to the bathroom and said she thought she was "pushing out poo." She was actually giving birth to a baby girl, Ruby. Jones said she was on birth control, believed she had recently gotten her period, and had no idea she was pregnant, according to a story by syndication service Kennedy News & Media.

Though Jones said she had a backache and stomach ache, she didn't think much of it. She didn't have typical contraction pains and never had a baby bump. She says she even passed a "fit to fly" exam, which included two pregnancy tests, weeks before she got the surprise of her life: a crash and two tiny baby feet sticking out of the toilet.

"I had no idea I was pregnant until I saw the baby in the toilet," Jones said.

Jones reports she ran to the kitchen to call 9-1-1, and the umbilical cord snapped.

"There was just blood leaking out," she said.

When the EMTs arrived, they were also shocked.

"I was hysterically screaming, 'There's a baby!'…They were expecting there to be a miscarriage, not a full-sized, 7-pound baby in their kitchen sink," Jones said.

Jones had other reasons to be concerned. She had been drinking socially. Thankfully, Ruby appears to be doing well four months later. Jones describes her as "happy" and "chilled." But she describes the whole experience as a blur because of the trauma.

"I didn't know what had hit me. It was just the shock. I felt numb in a way," Jones said.

Jones' family didn't believe her father when he told them the news. The disbelief has been a common theme when Jones shares her story—sometimes, she can't believe it herself.

"Even now, as a family, we still can't get our heads around what happened," Jones said. "There's still moments where we're like 'wow.' It's one of the stories that you read about, but you never think it would be you, your friend, or someone you know."

But Jones says the whole ordeal has made her less judgmental.

"Now I've actually lived through it, I kind of regret thinking that as I know what other people have been through now," she said. "It is a real thing. It does happen."

Though rare, cryptic pregnancies do happen. Last year, a Reddit dad shared his experience, and commenters rallied behind him. Research shows that 1 in 475 people experience a cryptic pregnancy, which is a pregnancy not detected until the 20-week mark. Jones—and the Reddit dad—experienced something even less common, a pregnancy that goes undetected until birth. It happens to about 1 in 2,500 people.

Lack of symptoms, negative pregnancy tests (which Jones says she experienced), and no bump can all contribute to someone not knowing they are pregnant, experts say. Other factors, like irregular periods, a previous infertility diagnosis, perimenopause, and regular birth control usage can also play a role.

Seeking help if you believe you may be pregnant and have been sexually active in a way that could produce a pregnancy, even if you have a negative pregnancy test, can help alleviate cryptic pregnancies, particularly ones not known until delivery.