Courtney went to the bathroom... moments later she was screaming out for her husband and rushed to hospital after a shock discovery

Awoman who had no idea she was pregnant has given birth to a healthy baby boy during what she assumed was a normal trip to the bathroom. 

Courtney Scherger said the baby arrived with a splash over the weekend 'feet first' into the toilet after 'one big, quick push'.

The new mum had previously been told it would be unlikely she could even get pregnant and was frozen in shock but yelled out to partner Simon Whittington, who rushed in from the next room, picked up the baby and called for an ambulance. 

When paramedics arrived they cut the umbilical cord and took the trio to North West Regional Hospital in Burnie where Ms Scherger and baby Eli are doing well. 

'It was all so quick, not painful, I didn't feel too sick or anything, no signs, no symptoms,' Ms Scherger told ABC radio.

She and Mr Whittington had been running on adrenaline but said once they were in the care of doctors at the hospital, they calmed down and have begun to process that they are now proud parents. 

Ms Scherger had assumed she would not have any children as she had been told she was perimenopausal.

'It's a complete, utter miracle for someone who can't have kids to… be surprised with a gorgeous little baby,' she said.

Courtney Scherger and her partner Simon Whittington are proud parents after she gave birth during what she thought was a normal trip to the toilet

Ms Scherger said that she didn't experience any morning sickness or cravings during the previous nine months and that she bled and her belly seemed to stay the normal size.

In fact she was experiencing a 'stealth' or 'cryptic' pregnancy in which a woman does not know they are pregnant until late in the third trimester or when they go into labour.

Studies suggest about one in 475 pregnancies go unnoticed until about 20 weeks gestation and about one in 2,500 pregnancies are not noticed until delivery.

Dr Natasha Vavrek, director of Launceston-based women's sexual, reproductive and mental health clinic The Bubble, said common pregnancy symptoms such as fatigue or nausea can be dismissed as just generally feeling under the weather. 

She said women who are pregnant or on the pill can still have their period and that pregnancy tests after the first trimester can be unreliable.

'For a lot of women, if they're doing a pregnancy test past that point, it's not going to come up with a positive result for them.'

Ms Scherger and Mr Whittington said they are now 'cramming in' nine months worth of learning into a few days as they prepare to take Eli home.  

Baby Eli and Ms Scherger are both doing well in hospital and will return home soon

Their story echoes that of Melbourne model Erin Langmaid, who was 23 years old when she suddenly became a mother in October 2019.

She unexpectedly welcomed Isla to the world, despite showing no signs of pregnancy.

The size 8 model had been working full time and taking contraceptive injections in the lead up to the birth.

She did not experience typical symptoms of sickness, a baby bump or cravings, and only felt ill on the day Isla was born.

He partner Dan Carty heard the commotion in the bathroom and was shocked at what he found inside.

'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.

The father said he was 'flabbergasted'.