A Bellshill mum-to-be was left shocked when her lower back ache turned out instead o be labour pains and quickly gave birth to her baby daughter nine weeks early.
Lauren McLelland Lambe had popped into Wishaw General for a routine check up after she had woken up with back pain just three days before Christmas.
Doctors thought her baby had been pulling her umbilical cord which was causing the pain - but Lauren was stunned when she was told her waters had broken and she was already in labour.
She was rushed to give birth and 20 minutes later she welcomed Lois Lambe at 31 weeks, weighing just 3lb and 7oz.
Little Lois was immediately hooked up to breathing apparatus straight after birth.
Doctors were worried her lungs would be under developed but just one day later she was able to breathe on her own.
Lauren explained: "The hospital midwives didn’t think I was in labour for a long time.
"I went in and my vitals were fine and I felt great apart from this pain in my lower back that was increasingly getting worse and the spot bleeding.
“They hooked me up to a monitor on my stomach to check on the baby and it moved every time I experienced a pain.
"I was being wheeled down the corridor and we realised the baby's head was crowning.
Lauren and husband Chris, 38, were anxious over how little Lois would cope as she was kept in hospital for 33 days.
But "determined wee soul" Lois was able to go home without any complications before Lauren's official due date.
Lauren continued: “The birth was very unexpected.
“We were in shock at the start then very worried as she was nine weeks early and we weren’t sure how she would be and if there would be any complications.
“It was hard going home from the hospital without her, no one could have prepared us for that.
"It was difficult not knowing how she would develop, we could only go and see her one day at a time.
“We couldn’t make plans or think ahead as we had to just wait to see how she progressed through each milestone.
“Luckily for us, she took everything in her stride and we could bring her home much quicker than we thought possible.
“We have been really blessed, she’s such a wee determined soul.
Thanking the NHS staff who took care of Lois, Lauren said: "Thank you so much for taking care of Lois when she arrived nine weeks early.
“She is thriving and home a lot sooner than we could’ve imagined due to the excellent care she received from your wonderful staff.
“My husband Chris and I couldn’t have wished for better people to look after her when we couldn’t be with her."
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