A nun has stunned her mother superior and sisters after giving birth to a baby boy after complaining of severe stomach pains.The sister, who belonged to an order in Macerata, in the eastern Italian region of Le Marche, claimed to have no idea she was pregnant when she was rushed to hospital in agony, after which she gave birth.
The 31-year-old nun said she had no idea that she was pregnant and thought her labour pains were just "stomach cramps".An ambulance was called after the pregnant nun collapsed in the nunnery.
Local media refused to name the nun, who is currently recovering in Bartolomeo Eustachio Hospital in San Severino with her sisters reportedly at her bedside.The newborn baby boy is in good health but will stay in hospital for medical checks.
The mother's convent has yet to issue a statement but reports suggest the sisters have shown interest in taking charge of the baby, L'Unione Sarda reported.
The case bears a striking similarity to that of a 33-year-old Salvadorean nun in Italy, who gave birth to a baby boylast year, whom she named after Pope Francis.
She told her social worker she did not feel guilty and would raise the child saying: 'I am so happy. 'He is a gift from God. I feel more of a mother than a nun.'
