When Lucy became pregnant, she was still at school and was expected to do well in her GCSEs. "I remember ironing my school uniform. We had a Chinese one evening and I was sick and I put it down to the Chinese." It was lunchtime the next day when Lucy's mother heard her crying in pain and realised she was in labour. There was no time to call the ambulance or doctor and at twenty past one, a scared Lucy gave birth to a daughter, Amy.
What about the normal symptoms associated with being pregnant? Lucy explains "I remember being sick a few times, but to me that wasn't being pregnant. I just told myself I had eaten something funny. I can understand why I didn't want to believe that I was pregnant, but I feel a bit stupid, every now and then I think 'Oh why didn't I say anything, why didn't I believe it, I could have had a much better pregnancy'."
Amy was the result of a brief relationship which had finished some months before. Lucy had a new partner, who was with her for most of the pregnancy, unbeknownst to him. Lucy was worried how he would react to the birth. She explains "He wouldn't believe it at first. It took my mum, me and my dad half an hour to convince him that I wasn't having him on."
A year after Amy's birth, Lucy moved away from home. She says the experience of facing so much responsibility, so early in life, has made her grow up more quickly. "Having a child around, you have to be stronger for them." Lucy is now 19 and has returned successfully to her education. She and her partner have just had their own daughter, now 3 months old.
Lucy realises that she had blocked out all symptoms of her pregnancy, but Andy Perry and Jenny Carter find their experience still difficult to believe. Earlier this year, Andy and Jenny moved to London to manage a pub. Whilst Jenny was doing some heavy cleaning she began to have stomach pains. Two hours later the pain was worse and Andy called an ambulance. Jenny describes what happened "We arrived at the hospital at 7 minutes past 11, and I said I've got this overwhelming urge to push and the baby was there!" Andy recalls "There was my son. There was blood everywhere and I was on my knees and just didn't know what to do. Frightening doesn't describe it ...terrifying is the best word." Jenny says "The nurse looked really astonished and shocked, picked up this child and put him on my belly and said 'Congratulations.'"
Jenny finds the arrival of baby Jordan as hard to believe as anyone else, and both she and Andy regret not having time to prepare for parenthood. Looking back, Jenny describes the symptoms of pregnancy as "little tiny things, but nothing major. I was tired, but I was working hard. I was still having periods, because I was on the pill. Some people get huge bosoms and I didn't. I didn't feel any movement in my stomach." Andy adds "I bought Jenny a long black ball gown. She wore that on New Year's Eve. At that time she was 7 months pregnant and the customers were telling her that she was losing weight."
Jordan was ten weeks premature, but Andy and Jenny hope to have him back home with them soon.
