In May 2023, TikToker Mia-Louise (@mialbruce) randomly gave birth to a baby on the toilet at home. She had no idea she was even pregnant. Now, her child is almost three years old.
Before this happened, she went to see the doctor many times because she felt that something was off with her body, but she was never taken seriously. After she gave birth, both she and the baby got sepsis.
The story starts in 2022 when she moved to London for college. She went home around Christmastime and got a kidney infection. Then, she got a chest infection in January.
Her immune system was very weak from getting sick. She wound up with stomach issues, and for some reason, her stomach felt as hard as a rock.
The doctor tested her for a bunch of allergies. She felt her stomach, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. At that point, Mia-Louise was about five or six months pregnant.
A week later, her blood test results showed that she was iron-deficient. She began taking the supplements and vitamins the doctor prescribed. In May 2023, she started a new job and was still in her first week of training.
One morning, she began feeling pain in her stomach. The pain worsened throughout the day. She spent the whole day in agony. Later that night, she woke up in excruciating pain. She could not move from the couch.
“I’m here thinking I’m really constipated, or my appendix is gone, or it’s my stomach issues playing up; I don’t know what is going on,” said Mia-Louise.
The next night, she was still in terrible pain, and her face was extremely pale. Her mom decided to call the doctor’s office to see if they could get her into an appointment.
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Meanwhile, Mia-Louise slowly made her way to the bathroom to use the toilet. She felt like she needed to pee, but it wouldn’t come out, so she kept pushing and pushing in absolute agony until she felt absolute relief.
Her mom was waiting on the other side of the door to make sure she was okay. Suddenly, Mia-Louise heard a cry. She thought it was a cat out in the garden at first.
But then, she sensed something moving below her. When she looked down, she saw a full-grown, eight-pound baby in the toilet.
She immediately told her mother to come in. Her mom called for an ambulance once she saw the baby. Mia-Louise was in and out of consciousness. In the end, two ambulances, two paramedic cars, a police car, and an air ambulance showed up at the house.
Luckily, one of the paramedics recognized that she had sepsis. She could hear everything going on around her, but she couldn’t move or speak.
They started treatment right away and rushed her and the baby to the hospital. When she arrived, there were about 30 or 40 doctors and nurses waiting for her.
What she experienced was a cryptic pregnancy, and she’s hoping that her experience will raise awareness of cryptic pregnancies and help others advocate for their own health.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
