A size eight teenager with a flat stomach was stunned when doctors told her she was nine months pregnant – before they re-positioned the baby producing a sudden giant bump.
Saffron Heffer, 18, claims she had no idea she was expecting a baby until her mum suggested she took a pregnancy test when they spotted a strange line on her tummy.
It turned out that the teen was 37 weeks pregnant – and gave birth to her son Oscar Heffer just six weeks later.
Aside from the mark, which turned out to be a pigmentation line, Saffron showed no physical signs of pregnancy and had been visiting them gym and going on sunbeds completely unaware.
The retail assistant put her missed periods down to the pill and her cravings for Cornettos, lettuce and strawberries due to them being on offer at the shop. It’s as good a reason as any.
An emergency midwife appointment confirmed her baby boy was back-to-back in her womb – and after her midwife twisted him around Saffron’s stomach ‘popped’ into a giant bump. If that didn’t make your toes curl, nothing else will.
Incredible pictures show Saffron just days before she discovered she was pregnant with a perfectly-toned tummy and then a giant bump after the baby was re-positioned days later.
After just six weeks preparing for the new arrival, baby Oscar was born a healthy 8lb 1oz on June 3 2018 – and despite the shock Saffron loves being a mum to her little boy.
Saffron, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, said: “It was a surprise for everyone. My mum was just as shocked as I am. I personally didn’t believe it was possible [to not know you were pregnant] until it happened to me.
“People said it and I heard the stories and I thought they must have known. But until it happened to me I was completely oblivious. While I was pregnant and didn’t know, I was going down to the gym and I was still having sunbeds.
“I was down the gym the day I found out and doing sit ups with my mum. We were laughing that my belly goes in a funny triangle shape. It just didn’t click – even my mum said she didn’t think for a moment that I could be pregnant.
“It was my mum who realised I had a pigmentation line on my stomach. My mum [Melissa Heffer, 46] noticed it and told me she wanted me to do a test just to rule it out.
“I said if I was [pregnant] then I’d literally have to be ready to pop, and I had no stomach, nothing, nothing whatsoever. So I said okay then.
“I did the test – and obviously it didn’t rule it out at all. It told me that I was pregnant. In the end I did get a bump. It was huge. I saw the midwife, she turned him around and then I just gained a balloon. It went huge.
“I was still in my size 8 jeans, but it was massive, I have to admit. It wasn’t straight away huge but I could see a small bump. It was an early pregnancy bump [at first] where you can’t tell and then [after I saw a midwife] every day it grew hourly.
“When she turned him around he became very active. I could feel every movement and every kick. It was so strange. From feeling nothing at all to feeling everything daily is just unreal. I do miss the feeling though, I have to say.
“I was absolutely shocked. I thought my life had ended. I’m 18 now, and I was only 17 when I found out and that’s a lot to take in for an adult, let alone a 17 year old.
“I was just hit with depression and thought what am I going to do? I was very stressed when I found out. Both my parents were at work so it was just me dealing with it emotionally and physically on my own. I locked myself away for at least two weeks of it.
“It was the shock – I didn’t know how to respond. After that two weeks I had the get-go mindset that it is what it is. You can’t change anything.
“I was just like – right, okay, I can do this. I’ve been strong with other things before. This is a bit bigger, but I can do this. I just got on with it really.
“I just got on with it and a few weeks later he was born. I wouldn’t turn back now – he’s beautiful. He’s perfect. If you had to ask for a perfect baby it would be him. He’s so content, he just sits and sleeps and cuddles. He’s so lovely.”
Before her discovery, Saffron had felt lethargic for months – with doctors telling her she was anaemic and vitamin D and B12 deficient. She became frustrated by the lack of change in her symptoms and refused to take the medication she was given.
But instead of gaining weight, the teenager claims she lost weight – dropping from a size 10 to a size 8.
Saffron said: “At one point I thought I was dying because I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was so lethargic and sleepy, I didn’t want to go out, I didn’t want to see anybody.
“I didn’t want to spend time with anyone ever because the littlest things annoyed me and got on my nerves and I didn’t know what to do. I lost weight. I didn’t gain any at all. I was in size 10 jeans before and I found out I was pregnant and was in a size 8, and I’m back in a size 6 jean now.
“I’ve had no explanation at all [as to why I didn’t get a bump]. They thought that possibly when he was born he was born with chicken legs.”
Saffron says she was happy with the results from the contraception she was using, adding: “They gave me the pill and said you might not get periods and that’s normal. So I took my pill and I wasn’t getting periods and I thought, cor, that’s lucky.
“I was swearing blind about it and saying it was the best thing. I was taking it so I wouldn’t get my periods and then, boom, had a baby. I had cravings but didn’t know they were cravings. I was craving Cornettos, lettuce leaves and strawberries. I went out and didn’t realise it was a craving – I just thought I was buying them because they were on a good deal.
“I’m loving being a mum. It’s so rewarding. The main thing I love is just seeing him happy. When he smiles and laughs that’s when you know you’re doing a good job.”
