‘I didn’t even know I was pregnant’
Dlamini gave birth to a healthy, 3.2-kgs baby girl at the Bethlehem Provincial Hospital. Dlamini reported having a light menstrual cycle throughout pregnancy and never knew to stop drinking and smoking.
“I was living a normal life like any person, drinking and smoking, and I loved partying, so my boyfriend and I would go out often,” she told OurHealth. “I had no clue I was pregnant. I didn’t get sick or anything.”
Dlamini is lucky drinking alcohol during pregnancy can lead to foetal alcohol syndrome, which can leave babies with life-long Intellectual disabilities and hearing or sight problems.
Dlamini decribed her shock at hearing she was in labour after her mother rushed her to the emergency room with abdominal pains.
“I was rushed to the casualty room where the doctor came and started asking me questions. I was answering him when the pain came back and he quickly asked me where I felt the pain and I told him,” she recalled. “He then started to check me and he looked back at me and said: ‘you are in labour.’”
“I was so scared, I cried and my mom was so shocked,” she added. “After an hour I called my boyfriend and told him. He was also so shocked, he drove immediately to the hospital to see if I was playing with him.”
They young couple have decided to name the baby girl “Joy” as the family continues to celebrate the unexpected birth.
