Woman Thinks She Has Burst Appendix Then Gives Birth 40 Minutes Later

A woman from Stirling, Scotland, was left in shock after mistaking pregnancy pains for a burst appendix, only to give birth just 40 minutes later. Anna Jackson, 22, initially thought the intense abdominal pain was simply period cramps, but as the pain intensified, she feared it might be appendicitis. Rushing to the hospital with her partner, Euan Smith, 22, Anna’s life would soon take a completely unexpected turn.

Anna recalled, “I didn’t have any symptoms at all. I thought maybe I had appendicitis and it had burst.” Doctors noticed swelling on her abdomen and asked her to take a pregnancy test, which came back positive. Surprised and still “clueless,” Anna asked, “Anything I can do?” The doctors responded with, “No, you’re having the baby now.”

Anna was rushed to the labor ward and gave birth to her daughter, Talia Smith, at 3:53 a.m. on March 22, 2024, weighing 7 lbs. The entire experience felt surreal to Anna. “It took two to three weeks to come to reality. It felt like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy,” she said, according to the New York Post.

Before the birth, Anna had no idea she was pregnant. She had experienced symptoms like acid reflux and bloating, which she attributed to her lactose intolerance and diet. “It was actually her moving around,” Anna later realized. She had not had a period in several years due to her birth control, so she dismissed any hormonal changes as just a normal cycle.

The dramatic turn of events unfolded after Anna woke up in the early hours of March 21, 2024, with severe abdominal pain. Initially thinking it was just period cramps, Anna went to work in Glasgow and tried to push through. However, by the end of her shift, the pain worsened. She drove herself home and sought help from her partner’s mother, who arranged an appointment at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

Doctors initially suspected a burst appendix or kidney stones, but when Anna was asked to take a pregnancy test, she was stunned by the result. “I was sat there clueless. They asked ‘You know what that means?’ I said ‘Am I pregnant?’” she recalled. After being told she was indeed pregnant, Anna was rushed to the labor ward.

Despite the traumatic nature of the birth, little Talia was born healthy, though she spent three days on a feeding tube. Anna and Euan adjusted to their new reality quickly, with Euan stepping into “dad mode” almost immediately. Anna said, “By the time she was four months, it felt like we had caught up with that nine months of planning we would have had if we had known.”

Now, at eight months old, Talia is thriving, and Anna describes her daughter as a “big personality” who is loud, curious, and a “wee firecracker.” While Anna still feels she’s adjusting to motherhood, she said, “It’s empowering to know the worst possible scenario could happen but it’s fine – we’ve made it out the other side.”