A 23-year-old woman who did not know she was pregnant has given birth to a healthy baby girl in a bathroom shower at a family home in Atlanta.
Briana Folk went into labour shortly before 5.30am on Saturday after complaining of severe back pain the previous night, her mother, Michelle Richmond, said.
Folk, who had recently moved from New York with her mother, delivered the baby herself before cutting the umbilical cord and cleaning both herself and the newborn.
She then remained in the bathroom with the baby for about an hour before calling for help. Richmond said she found her daughter crying, with the baby breathing, clean and crying.
“I don’t know if it was because she was in shock or whatever, but she just took care of her baby,” Richmond said.
Richmond said Folk had not realised she was pregnant because she continued to have regular periods and showed few physical signs. She said she had noticed only that her daughter’s stomach appeared slightly larger than usual.
The family called 911 and Folk and her daughter were taken by ambulance to Northside Atlanta Hospital. The baby weighed 5lb 3oz and measured 18.25in in length.
Richmond said the infant had passed her hearing test, was feeding well and was recovering alongside her mother. The family named her Makila Miracle Atkins because they regarded the safe delivery as a miracle.
Richmond said her daughter had quickly adapted to motherhood and was concentrating on feeding and caring for her newborn.
“I did ask her, I said, ‘How do you feel about being a mom?’ She said, ‘I love it. I’m just going to do the best I can to take care of my daughter’,” Richmond said.
