- Alysha MacDougall gave birth unexpectedly after multiple negative pregnancy tests in January
- She delivered baby Julian at 22 weeks gestation during a blizzard in an ambulance
- Julian weighed less than a pound and required specialized ventilator support at Tufts Medical Center
A US woman who thought her symptoms were caused by medication was surprised to discover she was pregnant and later gave birth to a baby boy, reported People.
Alysha MacDougall and her fiance Carl Pina of Brockton, Massachusetts, brought home their son, Julian, from Tufts Medical Center in Boston on June 29. MacDougall, 33, gave birth in an ambulance during a blizzard in January, hours after coming home from a friend's baby shower.
MacDougall recalled taking several pregnancy tests shortly before giving birth, and all of them came back negative.
She had previously been diagnosed with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) and was prescribed a GLP-1 medication to help with weight management, as weight gain is often a symptom of PMOS.
MacDougall said she did not think there was any possible way she could be pregnant in January.
She began bleeding on her bathroom floor at 3 am on January 26. Pina called 911 and drove behind the ambulance as it travelled through difficult conditions to the hospital.
MacDougall recalled having "excruciating stomach pains" before she lost consciousness.
Pina said he learned about the birth while listening to Alysha's mother speaking with the hospital on speakerphone.
He said they told him that Alysha was doing great and the baby was okay, and that it was a boy. He added that he sat there wondering if he had heard it correctly.
Baby Julian was born at around 22 weeks, meaning he had been carried for less than half of a typical full-term pregnancy.
He weighed less than a pound, according to the hospital.
Tufts Medical Center NICU's medical director Dr Jaclyn Boulais said Julian was fragile, unstable and needed careful care, including maximum ventilator support. She added that his skin was paper-thin.
Dr Boulais said Julian was intubated on a specialised ventilator used for preterm infants. She explained that he had very thin, gelatinous skin, was extremely small and needed help from almost every system.
According to Tufts Medical, Julian had only a 15% chance of survival.
Alysha thanked the NICU staff for their support during Julian's long journey to health. Alysha said they truly fell in love with the NICU staff and that she went back and forth virtually every single day, receiving a lot of love and support for Julian and their entire family.
