How woman wey no know say she dey pregnant born inside football club toilet

Charlotte Robinson dey hold baby Henry for her arms. Na just two weeks old baby and e dey wear cream colour bodysuit.

Wia dis foto come from, SHAUN WHITMORE/BBC

Wetin we call dis foto, Doctors no fit explain weda two-week-old baby Henry arrive near im due date becos im mama Charlotte no get any idea say she dey carry am
    • Author, Nikki Fox
    • Role, BBC health correspondent, Suffolk
    • Reporting from, Lowestoft
  • Read am in 6 mins

One woman tok say she no get any idea say she get belle until she give birth inside one football club toilet.

Charlotte Robinson, 29, tok say di arrival of Henry for Lowestoft, Suffolk, na "di biggest shock of my life" but proof say "miracles dey hapun".

Six hundred pipo attend di match on 24 August wen Mrs Robinson rush go one cubicle, she feel di urge to push and she see her son head.

Dr Louise Jenkins, di head of midwifery for Anglia Ruskin University, tok say cryptic pregnancies, na wia di mama dey unaware of di baby, e dey affect about one in 2,500 births.

Baby Henry open im eyes dey look directly at di camera. E dey rest on di arm of im grandmother wey wear red denim jacket.

Wia dis foto come from, SHAUN WHITMORE/BBC

Wetin we call dis foto, Dem check Henry for di James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston wia e weigh 6lb 7oz [2.92kg]

Mrs Robinson, na residence of Bradwell near Great Yarmouth for Norfolk, she tok say tins dey normal up until she born Henry.

She dey work for office job and bin dey on a trip to London wit her husband Macaulay.

"I no feel am move... Nothing dey different at all," she explain.

Mrs Robinson tok say she don suffer hip pain since she born her 18-month-old daughter, so she no tink about anything wen e become worse

Afta di football match finish for Kirkley and Pakefield, she enta di toilet and feel sudden pressure.

"I be like hold on for one minute, I know wetin be dis feeling. I get dis quick feeling and e be like say something dey dia wey no suppose dey dia."

Mrs Robinson quickly lift her son out of di toilet and try to contact her family, but di signal dey poor.

"I dey try to call my husband or my mother-in-law to come and help and someone answer di phone."

Di toilet cubicle na a thin, small toilet inside a very narrow corridor off di main clubhouse bar. E show while toilet with di lid up and a window above am. Na a small space. Di corridor get grey wood panels for di bottom of di wall and cream paint for di top.

Wia dis foto come from, SHAUN WHITMORE/BBC

Wetin we call dis foto, Mrs Robinson dey inside toilet cubicle for Kirkley and Pakefield Football club wen she feel one unexpected sensation

Mr Robinson no wan enta di women toilets so im mother Miranda enta instead.

She describe di scene as "utter chaos".

"I just wonder if di baby even dey alive becos e look so small," she tok.

"We eventually give Macaulay chair becos e no dey like blood!"

She tok say anoda family member use one football shirt to wrap di baby, while di club fetch towels and foil sheets.

One off-duty paramedic help until di ambulance arrive.

Macaulay Robinson sidon for di clubhouse for Kirkley and Pakefield Football Club for Lowestoft in front of di old wooden style bar.

Wia dis foto come from, SHAUN WHITMORE/BBC

Wetin we call dis foto, Mr Robinson tok say pipo celebrate di birth for di club dat evening

Mr Robinson describe di day as "surreal but amazing".

E tok say: Pipo go say I recover pretty quickly from di drink... afta I hear di little man cry.

"Everything just dey go slowly. E be like say di earth just stop."

Dr Jenkins, wey dey live for Anglia Ruskin campus for Chelmsford, tok say Mrs Robinson no dey alone.

"We dey get lots of women wit di surprise and dem no dey know say di baby dey dia until dem born am," Dr Jenkins tok.

She tok say di risk be say dem go miss antenatal care.

"Generally, once dem born di baby, dem go need good check ova to make sure everything dey healthy."

Wetin be cryptic pregnancy?

  • Dem dey use di term wen woman no realise say she get belle - sometimes until she dey in labour
  • Irregular bleeding fit make women tink say dem neva miss dia period. Dis fit hapun wen di woman still dey young or e just born pikin recently, or women wey dey go through menopause e fit go up to nine months without any period. Women wit polycystic ovary syndrome also get irregular periods
  • Some women dey mistake pregnancy spotting for light bleeding
  • If di baby legs and arms dey face towards di front, e dey likely possible to feel di baby moving. E dey also make di bump more visible
  • About 300 births for di UK dey affected yearly. E dey equivalent to one birth per maternity department

Source: Dr Louise Jenkins, head of midwifery, Anglia Ruskin University

Kirkely and Pakefield Football Club "Huggy" Stand, wey dem name afta James Hutchinson.

Wia dis foto come from, SHAUN WHITMORE/BBC

Wetin we call dis foto, Di football match dey in memory of James "Huggy" Hutchinson e die in 2023
Jane Hutchinson on di left wit curly hair dey look di camera, smiling wit her husband James.

Wia dis foto come from, JANE HUTCHINSON

Wetin we call dis foto, Former player and manager James Hutchinson (foto wit im wife Jane) die aged 49

Di couple tok say di day, she born Henry dey emotional becos dem dedicate di match to di man Mr Robinson dey call "uncle Huggy".

James Hutchinson die of brain tumour for 2023 and di club dey try raise money for memorial garden.

Di couple named dia new baby Henry James in memory of di late "uncle Huggy".

Mr Hutchinson wife Jane tok say di timing of di birth dey "so special" and dat wen she announce di news to di remaining supporters, something unforgettable hapun.

"My friend little girl run to me and she say, 'See wetin land on me' and na one white feather land on her, so I just feel say e dey here on dat day."

Mrs Robinson dey look her son lovingly, Henry Robinson. E dey look directly into her eyes.

Wia dis foto come from, SHAUN WHITMORE/BBC

Wetin we call dis foto, Mrs Robinson tok say e dey nice say her newborn dey close in age to dia 18-month-old daughter

Mrs Robinson tok say dem don dey adjust to Henry arrival, but na good one for di family, afta six family members die in 12 weeks.

"I no fit imagine life without am now," she tok.