A 22-year-old woman developed a rare condition during pregnancy, causing her belly to swell so much that some people assumed her baby bump was fake.
After becoming pregnant with her fourth baby back in June, Lauren Draper learned from her medical team that she had polyhydramnios.
According to Mayo Clinic, “Polyhydramnios is the buildup of increased amniotic fluid—the fluid that surrounds the baby in the uterus during pregnancy.” It only occurs in around 1% to 2% of pregnancies.
“Most of the time, the condition is mild,” Mayo Clinic reported. “It’s often found during the middle or later stages of pregnancy. Severe polyhydramnios may cause shortness of breath, preterm labor, or other symptoms.”
As Draper’s pregnancy progressed, “People said ‘OMG, what’s in there? A penthouse? A three bedroom apartment?’” she said, per SWNS. “I was a fair size. People saw the bump before they saw me.”
Draper added that, due to the size of her belly, many people assumed she was having multiple kids.
“People also thought it was fake and said, ‘It’s AI,’” she explained.
But once her water broke, her bump immediately went down.
“I was like a pancake!” Draper told SWNS. However, it took about 10 days for it to go down fully.
This wasn’t the first time she experienced polyhydramnios. In fact, she experienced the condition when she had her first child, who is now 7.
Because of all the excess fluid, it was difficult for Draper to move around during her pregnancy. She also spent weeks in the hospital before giving birth at 34 weeks via emergency C-section after experiencing a placenta abruption.
“They said when she was born, she wasn’t breathing,” Draper said of her daughter, who is still suffering from respiratory failure in the hospital. “She was blue. It was horrific to hear. Seeing her in an incubator—it was horrific.”
The mama is hopeful her daughter will be okay.
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