One mother still couldn’t believe that her perceived menstrual cramp was not a disorder but a baby.
Elizabeth Whitehead, a 21-year old woman from Barnegat, NJ, was walking in the backyard when she felt a terrible pain from her stomach. She assumed it was just another episode of menstrual cramp. However, when it got really terrible that she decided to go to the hospital but didn’t make it. She had given birth to a baby boy right on her front yard.
Police officers Vinnie Damiano and Michael Moore arrived at the scene and saw Whitehead and the baby. NBC Philadelphia reported that the 2-pound baby was three months premature and was not breathing. They tried to revive the baby through cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) which was successful because the baby started breathing again. They then called for an ambulance to Whitehead’s residence to bring them both to the nearest hospital.
Whitehead and the baby were admitted in Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin. Both of them are now being observed to ensure there were no further complications on their health due to the premature birth. NBC Philadelphia reported that the baby has been transferred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.
Whitehead stated that she wasn’t aware that she was pregnant because her pregnancy tests revealed negative. She tested twice.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, preterm births or premature births happen in 1 out of 9 babies born in the U.S wherein mortality rate is high at 35 percent. Warning signs that a mother may most likely have a preterm birth are contractions that happen every 10 minutes, vaginal bleeding, backache, cramps similar to menstrual period which what Whitehead may have experienced, and abdominal cramps. Mothers should rush to the nearest hospital to have them checked to avoid complications because babies may have difficulty breathing when they were born preterm.
