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Minnesota Woman, Unaware She's Pregnant, Gives Birth While Training For Half-Marathon

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 6, 2013 4:45PM

A Minnesota woman who felt what she thought was back pain while training for a half-marathon got the Bonus Plan, instead, when she eventually gave birth to a baby girl a day later.

Trish Staine, 33, told Duluth ABC affiliate WDIO-TV she was training for Grandma's half-marathon Sunday, running up and down a hilly street for two hours, took a hot shower to alleviate the pain, and fell asleep. She awoke Monday still in pain which became so severe an ambulance eventually was called to take her to a hospital. "In the ER, they found a fetal heartbeat. I was like, no no no. There's no way I'm pregnant. But they rushed me up to the Birthing Center, and five minutes after I got into my room, she was born," Staine said.

Staine gave birth to a six-pound, six-ounce girl about five weeks premature and with low blood sugar, but in otherwise good health. Her pregnancy came as a surprise, however, as she was unaware she was even pregnant. According to AP, Staine said she hadn't noticed any weight gain or fetal movement, and that her husband had a vasectomy. (It's a Whodunnit, we tell ya.)

Staine and her husband John named the baby Mira, short for "Miracle." They have two other children together and three more from her husband's previous marriage.

Running while pregnant is not uncommon, but it can pose some safety risks, as Runner's World notes in a 2010 article:

There are some health factors that would make running while pregnant inadvisable including Type I diabetes, a history of two or more miscarriages, a multiple pregnancy, smoking, and excessive alcohol intake. Other contraindications may include a history of premature labor, anemia, obesity, Type II diabetes, and a very low fitness level prior to pregnancy. For these and many other reasons, it is most important to let your physician advise you on your exercise routine throughout your pregnancy. If, for some reason, you are advised not to run during your pregnancy, remember that it is only for a relatively short period of time!

This isn't the first "pregnant runner" story we've, um, run across. In 2011 Amber Miller ran the Chicago Marathon while 39 weeks pregnant, grabbed a bite to eat and gave birth to a seven pound, 13-ounce girl later that night. It was Miller's second time running a marathon while pregnant and she said, “I know what I can handle. This is something I’ve been doing for a long time.”