A YOUNG woman went to York Hospital to be checked for a possible infection – only to be told her waters had broken and she was about to have a baby.

Stunned Chelsea-Vove Child had absolutely no idea she was pregnant, having never missed a contraceptive pill and scarcely putting on weight during eight months of pregnancy.

“I didn’t look pregnant at all,” said Chelsea, 22, of Milner Street in Acomb.

“I’d put on about half a stone, and gone from a size eight to a size 10 – but I put this down to comfort eating because I’d just lost a friend to lung cancer.”

She said the date was Friday, December 13, and she thought at first that doctors were joking.

“I was in complete shock.”

Her fiancé, Phil Jarvis, 42, who works as a chef at the Shoulder of Mutton pub in Heworth, was equally amazed when A&E medics came up to him after examining her and said: “Congratulations.”

He said: “I couldn’t work out why they were saying that when she was ill. When they said she was pregnant, I almost fainted.”

It was three days before she went into labour, during which time she was moved into a private room to have some peace and quiet to come to terms with what was happening.

Her labour lasted just over an hour, after which baby Jayden, who was a month premature and weighed only 4lbs 1oz, went into the special care baby unit. He was finally allowed to come home on Monday, January 6.

Chelsea said she had never wanted children, and with Phil already having a daughter from a previous relationship, they had never discussed having children of their own.

But she said that when Jayden was born, she fell in love immediately.

“I just sat looking at him thinking: “How has this happened?” I didn’t want a baby, but now he’s here I don’t regret it at all. My life has suddenly changed forever, but I’m so happy. I love Jayden to bits.”

She said that looking back, she could see there were some signs she was pregnant but had not realised what they were.

Last July, she had been sick for about three days but had just thought she had a virus that was going round. She realised now it was morning sickness.

“I’d also been having a few feelings in my tummy, but I’d just put that down to stress because of caring for my terminally-ill friend.”

The couple, who met when they worked at Oscars bar in the city centre several years ago, thanked family and friends who had rallied round and provided second-hand baby clothes and equipment.