This Morning fans were left lost for words when a guest revealed that she gave birth on Christmas Day – despite having no idea that she was pregnant. 

Kayleigh, Nick, and their three-week-old daughter Holly, sat on the sofa alongside Dr Sara Kayat to talk to hosts Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shephard, 50, about their extraordinary story. 

The nursery worker explained that she had felt sick after going out for drinks a few weeks before, but didn’t think anything of it, so carried on as normal. 

The couple, who met in December 2023, rushed to hospital on Christmas Day after she woke up in extreme pain and had to call an ambulance. 

The two were shocked when she was told she was expecting after having an ultrasound scan – which meant that she had a cryptic pregnancy. 

Kayleigh told the presenters: ‘It was only two weeks before I was sort of really unwell.

This Morning viewers were left shocked after show guests share their rare story about welcoming their daughter into the world

Nursery worker Kayleigh, 24, is now a proud mum to her daughter Holly 

‘We went out for a couple of drinks as well, I didn’t have a lot to drink it wasn’t enough to make me sort of think you’re hungover.

‘Then after two/three days it went, so I went back to normal. It was Christmas Eve when it all started.’ 

The new mum was busy living her life throughout the year and did plenty of fun things.  

Kayleigh admitted: ‘I went to Magaluf in July, I worked it out, I must have been three months pregnant when I went to Magaluf. 

‘I went to Amsterdam, we went to Turkey, I had girls’ weekends as well.’

Cat added that she had even gone white water rafting. 

Kayleigh told the presenters that after she was told the news she said: ‘I was just like, at the time I was worried, all the things I’ve done, I just hope the baby is healthy. That was the only thing going through my mind.’ 

Many took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their shock over the unique story.  

Those watching at home were shocked over the rare story

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One confessed: ‘Stories like this terrifies me, can’t see them being true, but if this happened to me I’d cry.’

Another questioned: ‘I’ve always wondered how women can not know they’re pregnant.’

A third asked: ‘Wouldn’t she feel the baby kicking inside her?’  

A fourth chimed in: ‘I gave birth to a surprise baby on Christmas Day??’ 

A fifth said: Omg she actually carried on doing normal stuff when she was pregnant.’ 

Meanwhile a fourth tweeted: ‘Bless em – good luck If they give the baby the unconditional love and care, they’ve done the best thing ever.’ 

A fifth said: ‘I’m glad #ThisMorning is talking about cryptic pregnancies. As that’s pretty much what I went through with my daughter. Was still having my period, she was hid behind my back for 8 months (when I found out I was pregnant) I was losing weight not gaining. and roughly 39 weeks+5 days.’   

Another said on YouTube: ‘Happened to my niece too. She felt sickly about a week before delivery. Felt like indigestion.’

Kayleigh and Nick spoke to Cat and Ben about their bundle of joy

‘This happened to one of my friends – she didn’t know until she went into labour,’ a seventh pointed out.  

Dr Sara explained that a cryptic pregnancy isn’t as rare as you think, as it happens in one in 2,500 pregnancies. 

The health care professional explained: ‘It can happen for a number of reasons. So firstly, it might be that you don’t get the same symptoms as most people, might not have the morning sickness or breast tenderness or weight gain. 

‘Or it might be that you have those, misinterpret them or attribute them to other underlying conditions. 

‘It might be that you have irregular periods anyway or erratic periods, or are on contraction meaning that you don’t get periods.’ 

Throughout her pregnancy, Kayleigh had no idea she was expecting because she didn’t have any symptoms. 

Kayleigh confessed: ‘I didn’t put on any weight which was quite weird, a lot of people said I would show quite quickly, for someone like you, it was when I woke up Christmas Day my stomach swelled up.

‘But I thought that was because I was unwell.’ 

WHAT IS A CYPTIC PREGNANCY?

 

A cryptic pregnancy (or stealth pregnancy) is when a pregnant person doesn’t know they’re pregnant. In some cases, a person may only realise they’re pregnant because labor begins.

Most people realize they’re pregnant somewhere between four and 12 weeks of pregnancy. This could be because they have symptoms of pregnancy or because they missed their period. A positive result on a pregnancy test can confirm pregnancy. With a cryptic pregnancy, nothing triggers a person to believe they’re pregnant. This could be because they don’t have symptoms of pregnancy or mistake symptoms of pregnancy as a virus, or their pregnancy test result was wrong.

How common is a cryptic pregnancy?

Cryptic pregnancies are uncommon. Studies suggest about 1 in 475 pregnancies go unnoticed until about 20 weeks gestation. About 1 in 2,500 pregnancies go unnoticed until delivery.

Will a cryptic pregnancy show on a pregnancy test?

You should still get a positive pregnancy test with a cryptic pregnancy. However, using an at-home pregnancy test correctly is the only way to get an accurate result. If you don’t use it correctly, you may get a false negative (meaning you’re pregnant but the test says you aren’t). Be sure to follow the instructions on the package and wait several days after your missed period to take an at-home test.

If your symptoms don’t agree with your home pregnancy test result, it’s always best to have a healthcare provider confirm with a blood test.

What are the signs of cryptic pregnancy?

People with a cryptic pregnancy have the same symptoms as a normal pregnancy. The key difference is that the pregnant person doesn’t realize pregnancy is causing their symptoms. For example, they may think they’re nauseous from eating a certain food or that they’re tired because they need to sleep more.

Other symptoms include:

Missed period: While most people know they’re pregnant because they don’t get their period, this isn’t always the case. If your periods are always irregular, you may not realise you’ve missed your period due to pregnancy.

Spotting or light bleeding: Some people experience light spotting in early pregnancy and mistake it for a period.

False negative pregnancy test result: This means someone is actually pregnant, but their test says they aren’t pregnant. If you don’t use an at-home pregnancy test correctly, you may get an inaccurate result. To be sure, it’s always best to contact a healthcare provider to confirm a pregnancy.

Weight gain or swollen belly: Some people may not notice they’ve gained weight due to being pregnant, or they might attribute an unusually bloated belly to eating a certain food.

Fetal movement: Most people don’t feel the fetus move until about halfway through pregnancy. If you have an anterior placenta, the placenta’s in the front of your belly. This can make it harder to feel kicks. In the case of a cryptic pregnancy, this could be why you don’t realise you’re pregnant.

Not knowing symptoms of pregnancy: If you’re very young or have developmental disabilities, you may be unaware of common signs of pregnancy like a missed period, tender breasts or nausea.

Source: Cleveland Clinic 

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The doctor confessed she was trying to figure out how Kaley went through her pregnancy with no physical changes whatsoever.  

Sara explained it could be that you’ve got really good abdominal muscles, her placenta was lying posteriorly, or that she has a retroverted uterus.   

Despite having no plans to start a family, Kayleigh told Cat and Ben: ‘I fell in love instantly, I was in so much shock, what has happened, it was such a blur to me.’ 

This Morning airs on ITV from 10am Monday to Friday and is available to stream on ITVX.