MY CONTRACTIONS LASTED TWO MONTHS

AN expectant mum suffered crippling contractions lasting a gruelling two months, due to complications from a rare condition. Debbie Mills, 24, fell pregnant despite having to cope with agonising nerve condition CRPS, for which she takes painkillers. But, as baby Owen grew inside her, doctors told her it would be too dangerous to him if she kept taking her medication. She came off the pain relief, but 28 weeks into the pregnancy she started having severe stomach pains, which were diagnosed as contractions – and they continued until Owen was born – at 37 weeks.

Other great stories
BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

A LOT OF BOTTLE: ARTIST PAINTS PICTURE USING JUST COKE

This artist had a lot of bottle to re-create a masterpiece painted with nothing but 24 litres of cola .

ADORABLE BABY ORANGUTAN PLAYS WITH MUM

TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .

STUNNING CONTRAST OF ENGLISH SETTINGS

CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .

DOTING SEAL TICKLES HER PUP

A doting seal smiles at her sweet little pup as she tickles its tummy on the beach .

PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN

A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .

REAL FRANKENSTEIN'S LAB

WELCOME to the real Frankenstein's lab where carefully pickled creatures are left to stew in jars .

LAST MILITARY HOSPITAL TIME CAPSULE

INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .

ADORABLE BEAR CUBS SHARE A HUG

ROLLING around in the snow, these young brown bears take a break from their play fight to share a tender hug with one another .

DOCTORS THOUGHT MY 30CM OVARIAN CYST WAS A BABY DUE TO GROWING BELLY – BUT CANCER WAS RAVISHING MY ORGANS

A woman was diagnosed with cancer after a cyst left her so bloated medics were convinced she was pregnant .

INCREDIBLE PHOTOREALISTIC DRAWINGS CREATED WITH A BALLPOINT PEN

FROM a HOLLYWOOD actress to the face of an innocent child, these are incredible drawings with an unlikely twist .

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .