Soldier hides baby in barracks

March 4, 2009 by Baby Chums
Filed under: News

A female soldier, 20, who hid her pregnancy has given birth to a baby girl inside her barracks, reportedly delivering the baby herself.

The baby was discovered by another soldier who heard her wailing at Abingdon Barracks in Oxfordshire.

Both the mother and her baby are now being cared for in hospital in Oxford, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

The Sun reported that the woman continued to participate in exercises and went to the gym in loose clothes during her pregnancy.

An MoD spokesman said: “We can confirm that a baby was born in military accommodation, in Abingdon, on Friday. Both mother and baby are being cared for in hospital.

“We can confirm that the mother is a serving soldier and all welfare needs of both mother and child are being addressed.”

The child is thought to be the first baby born at a British Army barracks.

There are around 187,000 members of the British Armed Forces, of whom about 17,620 are female.

Of those women, 3,760 are officers, according to UK defence statistics for 2008. Female military personnel are entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave.