A marathon runner had a baby after mistaking the labor pains she felt during a training session for back pains, never realizing she was pregnant.
Trish Staine, a 33-year-old, was more than a bit surprised when she gave birth on Monday. For one, the mother of three hadn’t gained any weight or felt the baby move. But most importantly of all, her husband had a vasectomy.
“I said ‘no, no, that’s impossible,’ ” Staine said from her Duluth, Minnesota, hospital room.
“I definitely thought I was done having kids,” she joked.
The marathon runner had the baby about a day after her labor started, which she thought was just aches from an intense session. Staine was training for a half-marathon on June 22 and ran about two hours on Sunday.
“I had a sore back Sunday evening. I had taken a hot shower and was dealing with it,” Staine said.
But the back pain grew more intense on Monday morning, making her consider going to the emergency room with what she thought might be a ruptured disc. Instead Staine went about her day, going to her husband’s basketball game and her daughter’s play. When the pain grew more intense, she had her husband call an ambulance.
Doctors detected a second heartbeat while examining Staine, and she was quickly taken to a delivery room . Within just a few minutes, the marathon runner had a big surprise — a new baby girl. She was born about five weeks early, but doctors said the newborn will be ready to come home in about a week.
The baby was born at 6 pounds, 6 ounces despite the oblivious mom receiving no prenatal care. When she comes home, the baby will join Staine’s already large family made up of two biological children, three stepsons, and two foster children.
The incident happened so fast, Staine and her husband didn’t even have time to think of a name. The marathon runner ultimately named the baby Mira — short for Miracle.