McDonald's worker mistook pregnancy for eating too many Big Macs

A British McDonald's worker thought her weight gain was from eating too many burgers – only realising she was in fact pregnant when she went into labour.

Daisy Young, 21, from County Durham in north east England, had gone to hospital in Dundee, Scotland, where she is studying, with excruciating tummy pains and to her shock, when she got there, nurses told her she was 37 weeks pregnant and ready to give birth.

Ms Young didn't understand how she was pregnant given she was having regular periods.

Daisy who was working at McDonald's and studying in Scotland, is now back home living with her parents in England, with her healthy son. Photo / Supplied

But a few hours later she gave birth to a little boy.

"I was in total shock," Ms Young said.

The business management student started work at McDonald's last year and got a free meal every shift.

She then started gaining some weight "which I put down to the McDonald's I had been eating".

However, she did not develop a bump, possibly because the baby was lying on her spine.

When she started getting stomach pains this month, she went to the emergency department in Dundee, where she was studying.

"I found out I was pregnant at around 3pm and they sent me for a scan. I was 37 weeks and the pain was probably labour," Ms Young said.

"It was all going so fast, I tried to ring my mum but I couldn't get through. I was thinking 'Oh my God, I'm about to have a baby'."

She then gave birth to baby Elijah at 6.48pm, where he weighed a healthy 2.72kg.

Ms Young, who is now back living with her parents in Crook, County Durham, said her little boy has changed her life for the better.

"Elijah is so laid-back, which explains a lot," she said.

It's not uncommon for women not to realise they're pregnant until they give birth.

Melbourne model Erin Langmaid also has a similar experience last year.

Melbourne model Erin Langmaid also has a similar experience last year. Photo / Supplied

She showed no signs of pregnancy, did not feel sick, had no cravings and did not have a baby bump.

The 23-year-old said she only began to feel ill two weeks before giving birth to her little girl Isla, in November.

"It was over in about 10 minutes," Ms Langmaid told 7 News about her labour at the time.

She too didn't show any signs of pregnancy, did not feel sick, had no cravings or a baby bump. Photo / Supplied

"I wasn't showing obviously because I fit into everything. It was just really bizarre."

Ms Langmaid, who was using contraceptive injections, had given birth on the bathroom floor of her home, which she shared with partner Dan Carty.

"I heard a big scream and I ran in there and opened the door and I was worried about her, and then I saw the little one and I thought 'hang on, there's two'," Mr Carty said.

While many people struggle to believe a woman could carry a child for so long without realising it, Professor Euan Wallace, an obstetrician and gynaecologist from Monash University, said it was entirely possible.

Erin, who was using contraceptive injections, had given birth on the bathroom floor of her home, which she shared with partner Dan Carty. Photo / Supplied

"These pregnancies do happen … there's no reason not to believe them," he recently told The Sunday Project.

"Some women do fall pregnant on the pill for a variety of reasons and for a small number of women when they have those pill-free weeks, they get a bit of light bleeding so they are assured or why would they expect they are pregnant?"