Doula was convinced by woman's fake pregnancy

A doula from Lincolnshire has told how she was left "completely convinced" by a woman who contacted her pretending she was having a baby.

Kaitlyn's Baby, a new true crime BBC podcast, is exploring the story of Canadian woman Kaitlyn Braun, who lied about being pregnant to more than 50 doulas.

Verina Henchy, 65, from Stamford, features in the series as she had a similar experience when a woman claiming to be called Jessica contacted her for support as she "gave birth", and then again later when "Jessica" told her the baby would die.

Ms Henchy told the BBC she realised the truth only when she spoke to who she thought was the woman's midwife – and found out it was actually her mother.

"I've worked with more than 100 pregnant women over the years, and although every woman is different and their experience is unique, there are similarities in all births," Ms Henchy said.

"Her detail was spot on, which makes me know it was very well planned and premeditated.

"I was completely convinced by this woman and had no question in my mind that this wasn't real."

Doulas are non-medical people who provide emotional support to women during pregnancy and at birth.

Ms Henchy said she was first contacted by text message by "Jessica" at 22:00 GMT on 10 April 2020. The woman said she was a first-time mother going into early labour at 39 weeks but had been told to stay at home as her local birth centre had closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Henchy stayed in touch via texts and calls, and learnt that the woman's husband "Jordan" had cystic fibrosis and had recently been given a heart and lung transplant – another reason why they could not go to hospital.

Ms Henchy even later heard the sound of a new-born baby crying.

A few days later, she was asked for more support when "Jessica" told her the baby had a congenital heart disease and was going to die.

But alarm bells started ringing when Ms Henchy's mentor told her she should see one of the midwives on a video call rather than just speaking to her on the phone.

"The woman wheeled out someone who was clearly too old, and I said 'I'm going to end the relationship now' – and then later I found out it was her mother.

"My first emotion was huge concern and compassion, because I thought this is a vulnerable woman with mental health problems in desperate need of help.

"I tried to get help to her but didn't know who she was or where she lived, so I couldn't do it."

Ms Henchy said her compassion "soon turned into fury", and she reported the woman to the National Crime Agency.

She now insists on video calls, and said she would never go to someone's house without having a video chat with them first.

Listen to all six episodes of Kaitlyn's Baby on BBC Sounds.

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