Mum who delivered third child at 28 weeks had no idea she was pregnant until day before

A woman who was receiving the contraceptive jab gave birth to a baby boy just a day after discovering she was pregnant.

Jenna Shields, 24, had no idea her third child had been growing inside her for the past 28 weeks before a hospital scan confirmed she was pregnant.

Little son Tyler Wood was born premature and Jenna was told he may be severely disabled, but he is now getting bigger and stronger by the day, reports the Gazette.

Jenna had been to the doctors the day before the birth after feeling unwell, but was referred to hospital as her GP was unsure of the diagnosis.

Despite her being on the contraceptive injection, a scan confirmed she was due to have the couple’s third child - but also showed abnormalities which meant midwives were unable to say how advanced the pregnancy was.

Because of a lack of fluid around the unborn baby, partner Matty Wood and Jenna were given a heartbreaking choice: they could look into a termination, or there would be a chance Jenna would give birth to a severely disabled baby.

But early the next morning baby Tyler was born - and Jenna found out she had actually been pregnant for 28 weeks, despite showing no signs.

Matty, 27, who works for Frank’s the flooring store in Redcar, said: “I just didn’t believe that Jenna could be pregnant, as she was receiving the contraceptive injection.

“The doctor couldn’t say either, and when we went to the hospital they scanned her, but because of a problem with her waters they couldn’t measure the baby properly and thought she might have been about 12 weeks pregnant.

“They told us to go home as she wasn’t dilated, but we went back that night and Tyler was born very quickly.

“I shouted for a nurse and the crash team flew in and I just remember Tyler going one way, and Jenna going the other.

“The midwife brought a picture of him, and then we got to go and see him in his ventilator.

“It was the most stressful period of my life. My head was all over the place.”

But now a year and a after the birth, Tyler is happy and bouncing as he plays with big brother Harley, five, and sister Elissa, two, at their home in Redcar, Cleveland.

He has had to face an operation on his heart and to repair a hernia already, and he is set for a hip operation in July.

But Tyler is getting bigger and stronger by the day, and the couple say they have been able to cope because of the staff at the neo-natal unit at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, who helped them so much in the months after Tyler’s birth.

Jenna said: “He was in there for five and a half months. They were absolutely fantastic. Having two children at home, it was hard to cope - but the staff there are wonderful.”

To say thank you, the couple have organised a family fun day at New Marske Sports Club on Sunday, May 31, featuring children’s rides, bouncy castles, balloon modelling, a magician and even donkeys.

Matty continued: “We were so unprepared for what happened, but the staff at the neo-natal unit were always there for us. You can’t say enough good things about them.

“We really just wanted to give something back.”