On
Tuesday, a British servicewoman, who was apparently unaware of her pregnancy,
gave birth to a son at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
Most women who have
experienced pregnancy and childbirth, might find it hard to believe that the
servicewoman was not aware of the fact that she was pregnant.
However,
the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that a British servicewoman has given
birth while serving in Afghanistan. According to the Daily Mail the woman,
reported to be from Fiji, served as a
gunner with the Royal Artillery, and had
been deployed with the 17th Mechanized Brigade since March.
She
apparently only discovered she was pregnant when she went to medics complaining
of severe stomach pains, at which stage she was told that she was about to give
birth. Medics reported that the baby was born five weeks premature and the
birth occurred shortly after a recent attack by the Taliban.
Camp
Bastion is well known as being the camp where Prince Harry is currently based, but now
has a further reason for fame.
An
MoD spokesman said, "It is not military policy to allow servicewomen to
deploy on operations if they are pregnant. In this instance the MoD was unaware
of her pregnancy."
Lieutenant Colonel
Andrea Lewis, commanding officer of the field hospital, said "This is a
unique occurrence, but my team is well-rehearsed in the unexpected and they
adapted brilliantly to this situation."
"I
am pleased to report the mother and baby are doing well and we are all
delighted at the outcome."
An
MoD spokesman said: "We can confirm that on September 18 a UK servicewoman
serving in Afghanistan gave birth in the Camp Bastion Field Hospital to a baby
boy."
"Mother
and baby are both in a stable condition in the hospital and are receiving the
best possible care."
"A
specialist Pediatric Retrieval Team is being prepared and will deploy in the
next few days in order to provide appropriate care for mother and baby on the
flight home."
"As
with all medical cases, when the need arises, individuals are returned to the
UK for appropriate treatment/care."