A pregnant woman exasperated at being a month overdue said she finally triggered labour by playing Pokémon GO.
Amber Wilde, now mother to five-day-old twin girls, had tried a myriad of remedies in order to give birth, including eating pineapple and sitting on a birth ball.
When nothing worked, she decided to go out playing Pokémon GO – a game which involves walking around ‘catching’ small animated critters.
After walking almost three miles the personal assistant found her idea worked and she went into labour.
The 27-year-old even continued to play the game in hospital after her contractions began – and gave birth to Embla and Olympia two days later.
Amber Wilde, 27, was exasperated and uncomfortable at being a month overdue (left). But she claims playing Pokémon GO (right) triggered her labour
Ms Wilde gave birth to twins Embla and Olympia a day after her waters broke – and even played Pokémon GO during labour
Ms Wilde, of Grove Park, south east London, said: ‘Men in suits at my office were obsessed with the game, so I decided to download it for the journey home and give it a go.
‘I did it to pass the time if nothing else, but within 24 hours I was in labour.
‘It’s amazing that by walking around my neighbourhood, playing Pokémon GO, helped me give birth to our beautiful girls.’
While twins would be a daunting prospect for some people, Ms Wilde and her partner Kirsty are well-practised.
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They had their first set of twins, Balthazar and Lysander, in October 2014, through sperm-donored IVF.
After she became pregnant again following IVF, the pair decided they want a natural birth.
As her pregnancy continued, she was approaching 50 weeks, or 11 months pregnant, with no sign of the babies coming.
Doctors were worried as it is recommend that twins should be born at 37 weeks.
This is the second pair of twins for Ms Wilde and her partner Kirsty, also 27. They gave birth to twin boys Balthazar and Lysander in October 2014
A survey by parenting site ChannelMum.com found 53 per cent of pregnant mothers plan to use Pokémon GO to trigger labour. Ms Wilde are pictured with their twin boys
Ms Wilde was due to have a crunch meeting with medics last Thursday morning to decide what to do next.
But the night before, she decided to download Pokémon GO after colleagues at her office raved about it – and she says she felt very different after her first session.
‘I downloaded the app after hearing so much about it and walked the hour walk home from the station while looking for these weird little monsters,’ she said.
‘When I made it back after an hour I felt different, like I was waiting for a period. I later realised it was the baby descending down on my cervixs.’
By the next morning Ms Wilde, who worked full-time right up until the births, got up at the crack of dawn to walk the dog – and get back on the Pokémon GO app.
‘I walked around the neighbourhood the next day again, looking for the characters.
‘I really couldn’t wait to start playing again, and I think it must have worked, because when I got on the bus for my appointment at the Princess Royal Hospital in Orpington I felt some leaking,’ she said.
‘I downloaded the app after hearing so much about it and walked the hour walk home from the station while looking for these weird little monsters,’ Ms Wilde, pictured on Halloween last year, said. ‘When I made it back after an hour I felt different.’
There is anecdotal evidence that walking can trigger labour, the NHS said. It is believed being upright encourages the baby to move down into the cervix
After her hospital appointment, she was told she was on her way to having the twins and told to wait for the contractions to start at home.
She kept playing Pokémon GO until Friday morning when her labour began fully.
That night the contractions came on strong and consultants advised she called a taxi to take her to the hospital.
On Saturday at 8.30am she gave birth to two the baby girls, weighing a healthy 5lb 10oz and 7lb 8oz.
Although Ms Wilde and her partner decided not to name their new daughters after Pokémon – she said they may name their next pet Jigglypuff or Pikachu
Ms Wilde and her partner, pictured with Lysander (left) and Balthazar (right) said they will tell their twin girls how they were conceived when they are older
And although she says she and Kirsty, also 27, won’t give them Pokémon middle names – she says they may name their next pet Jigglypuff or Pikachu.
She said: ‘If the game is still cool when they’re older I will tell them how they were brought into the world, it’s a quirky story.’
Research from video parenting site ChannelMum.com has found Ms Wilde is not alone in using the game to go into labour.
They found 53 per cent of mums-to-be plan to use the character-catching app to get their birth underway.
Its founder Siobhan Freegard said: ‘Maybe it should be renamed Pokémon Go-Into-Labour.
‘Mums love to find the most effective way to start their births and the app seems to be highly effective. A combination of fun, exercise and taking your mind off the pain and the wait will be a boost to pregnant women everywhere.’
There is anecdotal evidence that walking can trigger labour, the NHS said.
It is believed that being upright encourages the baby to move down into the cervix.