A student who did not suspect she was pregnant gave birth to her “miracle” baby in the hospital toilet – despite two negative pregnancy tests the previous month.
Lalen Malik and her family hailed her surprising newborn as a “blessing,” but she criticized her GP for allegedly missing her chances of noticing that she was a mother-to-be.
When Ms. Malik suffered excruciating stomach pain at her home in West London on March 26, her family rushed her to A&E to see what was wrong.
The 23-year-old thought she had constipation, but her mother, Sumra, had an “intuition” that something was wrong.
Image: Two-week-old Mohammed Ibrahim sleeps in his mother’s arms
“It was a complete shock and trauma for both of us.”
In the bathroom of Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, north-west London, Ms Malik was about to blush when baby Mohammed Ibrahim’s little hand was spotted in the bowl, making her terrified that she and her son were in danger.
“I am gone. My mind was empty. I was put in another room because I was obviously crying and my mother was crying, “she said.
“It was a complete shock and trauma for both of us and I felt that my life was in danger.”
Ms Malik believes her son may have been stuck for up to seven minutes before being rescued by medics.
Doctors who removed the baby said he “looked lifeless” and was not breathing, but fortunately resuscitation efforts were successful.
Image: Dr. Ewa Grocholksi with Lalene Malik and her baby
Doctor praises his mother as a “hero”
Dr Eva Groholski, who helped save the baby’s life by compressing his chest, said it was “the most amazing experience of (her) medical career”.
“I have never seen (the birth of a baby) in such circumstances. I’ve seen young ladies like Lalene before they came to A&E without knowing they were pregnant and giving birth in the A&E department, but it’s always been safer.
“She was in bed or it was slower, so we would have noticed they were giving birth before that happened.”
Dr. Groholski praised Ms. Malik as a “hero” and said it was “amazing” that she had given birth, even though she did not know about the pregnancy in advance.
Image: Lalen Malik and her son meet with staff at Northwick Park Hospital in north-west London
“If I knew I was pregnant, I would appreciate those moments.”
Ms Malik, who said she had two negative pregnancy tests in February, described her son as a miracle baby and praised the hospital’s doctors and nurses for their efforts to cure him.
However, she accused her family doctor, Elm Trees Surgery in Greenford, of failing to perform proper tests that could reveal she was pregnant.
“If I knew I was pregnant, I would appreciate those moments of shopping, preparing things for the baby,” she said.
Her husband was abroad at the time and in “complete shock” when he learned of the birth, Ms Malik added.
Image: Lalen Malik and her sister Adin arrive at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow to thank staff for treating her and baby Mohamed Ibrahim
She said she returned to her GP several times after experiencing symptoms, including weight gain and shortness of breath.
Ms. Malik said she was given a blood test in surgery in March, but was later told she had failed and no results were available.
She said: “I called three days later and they said, ‘Oh, we can’t find anything because the person who took the blood test didn’t shake it properly, so come back three to six months later. “.
Two weeks later, her son was born.
Operation Elm Trees said Ms. Malik’s experience fell below expected standards of care and the matter would be investigated.
A statement said: “We are very sorry to learn about Ms. Malik’s experience, it is below the standards of care we expect from our services. Please rest assured that this issue will be fully investigated. “
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