Mom gives birth at Burning Man without knowing she was pregnant!

Many people who attend Burning Man shell out for the famous desert festival to have a transformative experience, but one attendee had an especially life-changing experience; she had a baby at Black Rock City.

Kayla Thompson, 37, and her husband, Kasey was in attendance at the 2025 Burning Man festival in Nevada and weathering the scorching desert conditions in their RV on Wednesday, August 29, 2025.

Kayla was jolted awake by a sharp pain, and her mind immediately raced to worst-case scenarios: was she battling a nasty virus or dealing with a potentially serious appendix issue?

As cramps intensified, it was clear medical help was needed.

The couple’s desperate cries for aid quickly transformed them from carefree revelers to patients in need, their Burning Man adventure taking a drastic turn.

They were parents.

Kayla gave birth to a three pound nine-ounce baby girl in the RV’s (recreational vehicle) bathroom - a tiny, unexpected bundle of joy.

The couple hadn’t been planning for a baby, and Kayla hadn’t even realized she was pregnant until that moment.

Thompson told in an interview to the New York Times, about the delivery moment, saying: “Even the nurses at the hospital were like, “You don’t look like you were pregnant at all.” she revealed, “I didn’t have any symptoms.”

Once the baby has been delivered, Kasey rushed out of the RV to call for help.

“I was yelling for anyone to come help us,” he told the paper.

It was couple’s good day that Burning Man festival attracts all sorts, and within minutes a neonatal nurse, an OBGYN (Obstetrician-Gynecologist), and a pediatric doctor attending the event happened to be nearby their camper and offered their assistance.

The couple traveled to Black Rock City - the temporary settlement that forms every August in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada during the Burning Man festival all the way from Salt Lake City.

They earlier planned to camp out in the back of a truck, but Kasey’s older brother had previously attended and knew the desert could be unforgiving. He brought an RV for the three of them to stay in together during the festival.

By Saturday, severe weather had already hit the Burners hard.

A sudden monsoon swept across the desert, derailing the festival’s opening weekend plans.

Conditions in Black Rock City deteriorated so rapidly that organizers temporarily halted entry to the festival.