No, I'm not PREGNANT!

Hannah Lane had just had a baby – yet her stomach continued to grow…

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Waddling up the stairs, I winced in pain and rubbed my rounded tummy. I was exhausted and while I looked – and felt – like I was heavily pregnant, I actually wasn’t. In fact, I’d given birth to my baby boy, Bobby, nine months earlier. 

My problems had begun in April 2019 after a weekend away for a friend’s hen do in Liverpool. It was my first time away from Bobby, then four months, and I couldn’t wait to get back to him and my daughter, Nieve, four.

But arriving home, my tummy didn’t feel right. I hadn’t been to the toilet for a couple of days, but I’d put it down to an indulgent time without enough fruit, vegetables and water. Yet, a week later, it hadn’t changed. I’d tried laxatives but was starting to feel uncomfortable so I visited the GP, who said it was just my body returning to normal after having a baby. I reasoned that it made sense.

Only, as the weeks passed, the pain continued, and I noticed my stomach starting to protrude. Strange, I thought.

Then, in June, after going out for a curry, I was doubled over from pain in my tummy. I’d only managed a few mouthfuls at dinner, but I felt sick and like I’d overeaten. My mum, Mary, then 62, took me to A&E, where an X-ray showed my bowel was blocked, but there was no obvious reason why. I was sent home with laxatives, but nothing worked and I muddled through the next few weeks, often in excruciating pain.

Feeling all wrong

Meanwhile, my stomach ballooned despite the fact my appetite was dwindling. Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but think I looked pregnant again.