This Woman Didn’t Know She Was Pregnant Until 30 Minutes Before She Gave Birth
From kidney stones to labor, this woman didn’t know she was pregnant until 30 minutes before she gave birth. But before we start, please make sure you subscribe if you haven’t already, hit the notification bell, and smash that like button. We really appreciate your continuous support.
After being rushed to the doctor for searing stomach pains, everyone was sure this young woman needed to be rushed to surgery for her kidneys. Little did they know, it was something much different. Most people have at least nine months to prepare for their little bundle of joy to enter the world, but 22-year-old cheerleading coach Ally Opfer had literally half an hour to do so. From thinking she had kidney stones to a positive pregnancy test, once she found out that her stomach pains were actually labor contractions, everything changed. So, how does it feel for someone to be surprised with a baby that they weren’t even expecting? Keep watching to discover more about Ally’s life-changing event and how it was even possible.
Ally Opfer was born and raised in Ohio and studied air traffic control at Kent State University, but she found passion in other things during her time in college, too. The 22-year-old woman was eager, excited, and enthusiastic about her career in cheerleading—so much so that she was one of the cheerleading coaches for the university. But one day, she started to feel some really strong stomachaches that, no matter what she did, she just couldn’t shake off. Ally enjoyed helping her team land their back handsprings and spread their team spirit, and overall, she kept quite an active life. However, from time to time, she would have some issues with her menstrual cycle that were a bit uncomfortable or unpleasant, like really painful cramps or not knowing when Aunt Flo would come back around for a visit.
One wintry day in 2016, she started to really feel some bad stomach pains but decided to push through the pain and continue coaching. Little did she know that what she was feeling was so much more than PMS symptoms. The cramps started on December 21, 2016, but things weren’t getting any better. Days later, she decided it was best to just take some time off and rest at home until it passed, but it looked like she was in need of some real medical attention. After a couple of days, the painful cramps had just gotten worse and worse, so much so that she was laying at home in the fetal position, screaming from the pain.
“I went to the hospital that day because I had terrible cramping. I knew cramps that bad had to be something serious,” Ally shared with Reader’s Digest. For those of you who have ever had a bad case of menstrual cramps, then unfortunately you probably know just how unbearable the pain can really be. Sometimes you can find things to help soothe your pain, like pain relievers or a cozy warm heat pad to lay on your stomach, but alas, nothing was working for Ally. And on top of that, it seemed like overnight the pain just continued to worsen. That‘s when she was immediately rushed to the doctors and had quite an interesting examination.
Strong stomach pains can be the result of a range of issues, like menstrual cramps, inflammation of your appendix (or appendicitis), or even feelings of stress and anxiety that result in physical symptoms. What exactly caused Ally, who was feeling fine one second, to be curled up into a ball of pain and suffering the next? “The doctor examined my abdomen and found what he called a small mass,” Ally explained during her interview with People. What exactly did he mean, though? There are certain medical words that tend to frighten us; even in a benign manner, the word “mass” unfortunately is one of them for a lot of people. Can you imagine what the poor 22-year-old Ally was probably feeling when she got that diagnosis from the doctor? It looks like she was right to seek medical attention when she did, but she still had unanswered questions.
There was no time to truly worry, though, and the doctor had ordered and scheduled an ultrasound for Ally immediately. The doctor felt a small mass in Ally’s stomach and was determined that he knew just what was wrong with her: a bad case of kidney stones. But to be safe, he ordered more tests as soon as possible for Ally so that they could figure out what was truly going on with her. From there, Ally was sent to get an ultrasound to confirm the doctor’s diagnosis so that they would be able to proceed properly. But what they found on the ultrasound was about to leave everyone speechless.
The thing about kidney stones is that even though they’re quite painful, sometimes they clear up on their own. However, depending on how severe your personal case is and what your doctor thinks upon examination, performing medical procedures to treat it might be required. And unfortunately, it looked like Ally was showing signs that indicated she might need to get taken to surgery that same night. Yet, Ally’s ultrasound was about to reveal something that not even the doctors or technicians could wrap their heads around once they saw what was going on. Ally seemed to be showing signs of kidney stones, but it looked like her ultrasound was showing something completely different.
“The ER doctor originally thought I had kidney stones, but when they took me back for an ultrasound, instead of finding kidney stones, they found a baby,” Ally recalled to Reader’s Digest. This absolutely baffled everyone involved, considering the fact that Ally wasn’t showing any signs of pregnancy whatsoever. It’s pretty hard to believe, but that wasn’t the only thing that the ultrasound showed. Can you imagine what Ally must have felt in that very moment? She came in thinking that she was suffering from a bad case of stomach cramps, but it turned out she was actually in labor. When the doctors told her what was going on, her face went completely white and she started to cry from shock and panic. She had absolutely no idea that she was pregnant and had no idea what to even think at that point. But before she had time to process, the doctors realized the baby was in distress and they needed to take action fast.
A million questions raced through Ally’s mind as the doctors explained to her what was going on. “I was just shocked and didn’t really believe it or understand,” Ally revealed to Inside Edition. But there was no time to look for any answers now. The main priority was to make sure that this baby and Ally were safe. But there was another issue that came up before anyone could truly process everything. Unfortunately, Ally’s health was also at risk at this point. The doctors weren’t completely off when they thought that Ally had an issue with her kidneys. It turns out that she was suffering from severe preeclampsia, which is a pregnancy complication that’s related to your blood pressure and can cause seizures, strokes, or put another organ at risk—usually the liver or kidneys.
She was in urgent and immediate need to be rushed to surgery so that they could handle the procedure with utmost caution. But that wasn’t the only reason why the pregnancy was a critical condition at this point. Ally’s blood pressure was skyrocketing high, but she was ready to give birth at any second. However, her baby’s health was also at risk and was in the breech position, which meant that her baby’s feet were facing down, making a natural birth complicated and difficult. “The only way to save my life was to deliver the baby via emergency C-section immediately,” Ally further explained to Reader’s Digest. So without hesitation, she was immediately rushed into surgery for an emergency C-section.
With the baby in breech position and Ally suffering from preeclampsia, there was no time for any questions. The doctors sent her straight to surgery so that she could deliver the baby without any additional complications. With all the shock, drama, and intensity going on, she was in need of some good news, especially after being in labor for multiple hours without any pain meds—talk about a real trooper! Thankfully, the good news was that Ally had arrived at the hospital at the perfect time. “They told me if I had waited any longer to come to the ER, I’d be dead,” she revealed to Reader’s Digest. Once Ally realized that she got to the hospital right on time, the good news just kept on flowing. The C-section was a success, and aside from a little bit of jaundice, the baby was going to be just fine, and Ally was too.
It turns out that the 22-year-old cheerleading coach was in labor for about 40 hours before finding out she was pregnant, and once she gave birth, she found out that she’d been carrying the baby for 42 weeks. Talk about a whirlwind of a night! Everyone was finally safe and sound, which meant that Ally finally had the time she needed to actually process everything that had just happened. Imagine being in her shoes: not only is it baffling to get word that you’ve been pregnant for the past nine months, but now Ally actually has a little human to take care of and raise for the rest of her life. “I knew I always wanted to become a mom, but not that soon,” Ally expressed to People. So what was she going to do? What did this all mean for her and her newborn baby?
When you’re in survival mode, a lot of times adrenaline kicks in and all your fears and anxieties just go away so that you can deal with the situation at hand, just like when Ally needed to put all of her shock aside in order to keep her and her baby safe while she was giving birth. However, now that she had a moment to herself and a chance to hold this little surprise miracle, she was able to settle down and reflect on everything. As adorable as babies could be, it’s a huge responsibility to bring a child into this world. Ally always wanted to raise her own children, and this decision showed that she was in the midst of catching one of life’s curveballs. So how is she going to handle this big life change?
During her interview with People, Ally excitingly revealed that once the shock wore off, “I was excited and my family was very excited too. So even though I wasn’t wanting to become a mom for a while still, I was very happy. I always loved babies and kids.” What an exciting and heartwarming ending! It looks like no matter how much fear she was feeling about the whole situation, Ally welcomed her newborn son into the world with open arms. “He’s attached to me and I absolutely adore him. He’s my very best friend. Our connection is so strong,” Ally shared with a huge smile on her face during her interview with Inside Edition. But learning how to deal with something so unexpected was just one of the few lessons that Ally learned along the way.
The next one was about how she had no idea she was pregnant in the first place. When Ally got the news about being with a child, she didn’t just wonder what she was going to do with him once she gave birth; the initial question of this rare situation was: how is this even possible? Ally later revealed to Inside Edition that she never fully understood why she never physically showed she was pregnant, and the doctors didn’t seem to have an explanation either. “The doctor said it could be because the way I was carrying or the way my son was in my stomach. I’m not really sure why I didn’t show,” she further shared. Which leads to the next lesson she learned: Ally had no idea she was pregnant because she didn’t have any of the symptoms that someone who is with child would have, especially the most obvious one, which is physically appearing to be pregnant.
There’s a healthy and optimal amount of weight that pregnant women should gain, but for the most part, Ally didn’t seem to gain any weight aside from a little bit in her face, which she easily chalked up to gaining weight because she wasn’t eating healthily. Everything was just normal. But that wasn’t the only pregnancy symptom that seemed to have skipped over her. What’s one of the most common symptoms that most women in their first trimester suffer from? The dreadful morning sickness routine. Ally was especially lucky to have missed that symptom completely. “I felt fine. I never started showing. Everything was normal,” Ally confessed to Inside Edition as she looked back on her pregnancy. In fact, she missed pretty much each and every sign that would signify to you that you’re pregnant, except for one: those special monthly visits from Aunt Flo.
Throughout the pregnancy, Ally never ran into dear old Aunt Flo. The first thing most women think of when this happens is typically, “I must be pregnant.” So why didn’t Ally? “When I did miss my period for the first time, I took a test and it was negative. And I kept taking them and they were always negative,” Ally shared with Inside Edition. But since Ally had a history of irregular periods to begin with, she just figured that was the issue. But to be safe, she actually did take multiple pregnancy tests. It wasn’t until she actually gave birth that she realized just how baffling those negative results were.
What a rare occurrence for all this to have happened! It seemed like Ally truly had no idea she was pregnant and had even taken tests to prove that she wasn’t. So how else could she have known? You can imagine just how hard this must have been for her and the medical professionals to wrap their heads around. And surely, even after all the signs were pointing to her not being pregnant, there are some people who would have ended up in this situation and still beat themselves up for not knowing. Yet, Ally was an optimistic person and looked at this situation in a mature and positive way instead of getting upset. The 22-year-old Ally had just learned the hard way that every single person’s body is different, and that includes how your body handles a pregnancy. “I always thought there’s no way you wouldn’t know you’re pregnant. When I’ve read these kind of stories or seen them on TV, it’s hard to understand until it actually happens to you. But something everyone should understand is that every pregnancy is different,” Ally humbly confessed to People.
With that said, though, how did she treat her body during those nine months of ignorant bliss? We all know that once you find out you’ve got a cute little bun in the oven, it’s time to focus on your dietary and daily habits to make sure you’re creating the best environment for your baby to grow in. So how did Ally treat her body during her three trimesters? Thankfully, she doesn’t smoke or drink regularly, which was great news. And while she confesses that she didn’t have the most optimal eating habits for someone with a child, ultimately she was very lucky that everything turned out okay for her baby’s development. What can we say, ignorance is bliss, and not being stressed out about every little thing you ingest can turn out to be beneficial.
But now that the baby was born and Ally knew she was keeping him, what was the transition like from being a 22-year-old cheerleading coach to a single mother? “I obviously had nothing for my baby as far as clothes and baby gear. So while I was in the hospital and for the first few months, my family and friends went out and bought me everything I needed or gave me the things they no longer needed,” Ally revealed to People. How heartwarming! Receiving baby clothes and supplies was just the beginning of it all. Even though she’d become a young single mother overnight, she had a full village to back her up and help her raise her sweet baby boy, Oliver. And one special member of said village was more than happy to share her knowledge and experiences with Ally. “Everyone was so supportive and helpful. When I needed help, I had family members who offered to help, and my mom taught me everything there is to know about babies,” Ally further shared with People.
Ally always pictured that she would be a mother much later in life, but it turns out that Oliver truly was a miracle child and one of the best Christmas presents she could ever imagine receiving. Ally absolutely loves being a mom and realized he was the missing piece in her life. On her very first official Mother’s Day being a mom, she posted a picture of her holding little Oliver for the first time with a beautiful caption: “I’m so beyond happy I have this precious little guy. He’s my best friend. Happy Mother’s Day to all the other moms out there. There’s no better job than being a mom.”
Ignorance may be bliss, but Ally’s amazing attitude towards the situation is beyond inspiring. Life threw multiple curveballs at her, but she took them all with a mature attitude and learned from each and every single one. It’s wild to think that she had basically 30 minutes to prepare for parenthood when most parents get at least nine months. But with the love and support of the ones around her, combined with her positive outlook, she made it work. What can we say, the love and strength of a mama bear is always awe-inspiring!
