I had NO idea I was pregnant at 18 until I was giving birth
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An unsuspecting teenager only discovered she was pregnant when she was five centimetres dilated and in labour – after having no bump, sickness or cravings.
Bri Blanton, 18, from South Carolina, was rushed to hospital by her mother, Jennifer Blackwell, 36, when she woke up doubled over in pain.
The teen – who thought she had wet herself – was told her waters had in fact broken and that she was pregnant and in labour.
Bri had to quickly adjust to the idea of becoming a mother before giving birth to her little girl, Oakleigh, just two hours later.
Bri, 18, had been in a bikini at eight months pregnant with no bump and even did a negative pregnancy test, her mother said
Despite having had no baby bump or pregnancy symptoms. Bri now loves being a mother to Oakleigh, who is four months old.
Bri, who works as a nanny, said: ‘I woke up early and thought I had wet myself. I was doubled over in pain.
‘When they told me I was pregnant and giving birth I was in complete shock.
‘I kept saying to my mom: “This isn’t possible”.
Bri Blanton (pictured) didn’t know she was pregnant until just two hours before she gave birth to daughter Oakleigh (pictured) in September
Despite having no baby bump or pregnancy symptoms, Bri now loves being a mother to Oakleigh, who is four months old
‘They put her on me after she was born, and my mom said I looked like a deer in the headlights looking at her.
‘It took me a good four hours after she was born to calm down.
‘I told my friends I’d had a baby and they were like “but you weren’t pregnant last week.”
‘They couldn’t believe it.’
The young mother was pregnant in this picture, but had no idea. Her mother, Jennifer Blackwell, said her daughter fit into her prom dress at five months pregnant
Bri’s mother Jennifer, a branch manager for a care home agency said: ‘To us it was like she went to bed and woke up pregnant.
‘She’d been in a bikini at eight months pregnant with no bump and even did a negative pregnancy test. We had no idea.
‘But Oakleigh is a blessing. Watching Bri be a mom is really beautiful.
‘
Bri had no pregnancy symptoms and had carried on with her active lifestyle – riding, fishing and hunting – unaware she was expecting.
Bri’s 36-year-old mother said that ‘Oakleigh is a blessing’ and that ‘watching Bri be a mom is really beautiful’
‘We bought her prom dress four months before and it fit like a glove,’ Jennifer said.
‘It still fit perfectly on the day of her prom, but she would have been five months pregnant.’
Jennifer suspected something might be wrong when Bri vomited after a heavy meal over the summer, and she got her daughter to do a pregnancy test.
‘She took the test in front of me,’ Jennifer said.
‘It said negative, so I was like “phew”. We didn’t think about it again.’
When Bri woke up at 4.30am on September 8 last year, with water all over her, she thought she had wet the bed.
Bri didn’t have long to get used to the idea of being a mother and said that she looked like a ‘deer in the headlights’ when she first held her baby
Jennifer said of Oakleigh: ‘Her facial expressions are everything. She smiles and laughs all the time’
She suddenly doubled over in pain and rushed to get her mother’s help.
‘I was freaking out,’ Jennifer said.
‘I had no idea what was wrong with my kid.’
Jennifer took Bri to Spartanburg Medical Centre in South Carolina and her daughter explained her symptoms to a nurse.
‘The nurse asked if she could check Bri’s cervix,’ Jennifer said.
Bri was taken to the delivery suite and was in labour for two hours before giving birth to 7lbs 4oz Oakleigh at 7.36am, on September 8
‘Then the nurse looked at me really eyes wide and said: ‘She’s dilated and in labour.’
‘I was worried for her because she was about to have a baby that she wasn’t prepared for.
‘We didn’t have anything at home for a baby.
‘
Bri was taken to the delivery suite and was in labour for two hours before giving birth to 7lbs 4oz Oakleigh at 7.36am, on September 8.
After her labour, Bri and Oakleigh (centre) went home to meet Bri’s siblings – Mckenzie, 19, (left) and Colton, eight (right)
It took a few hours for Bri to get over her initial shock, but once she did Jennifer said her maternal instincts kicked in.
Bri and Oakleigh stayed in hospital for 48 hours to make sure they were both OK before they were able to come home to meet Bri’s siblings – Mckenzie, 19, and Colton, eight.
‘For me it was a full circle moment as I had Bri when I was 17,’ Jennifer said.
‘It was lovely to see how people showed up for Bri and didn’t shun her.
‘I had felt judged.’
After the initial shock of becoming a mother, Jennifer says Bri is now ‘the best mom’ to her little girl
Now Oakleigh is four months old, and Jennifer is proud of the mother Bri has become.
‘She’s hands down the best mom,’ she said.
‘Oakleigh has got us all wrapped around her little finger. Her facial expressions are everything.
‘She smiles and laughs all the time. She’s a very happy girl.’