Can women be pregnant for months and not know about it? The answer is yes.
A couple in the United States found out that they were expecting a baby 48 hours before they had it. Peyton Stover, a 23-year-old teacher from Nebraska, delivered her first child soon after learning about her pregnancy.
The woman was experiencing fatigue, which she believed was related to her job. Then her legs swelled, which is why she decided to visit the doctor. “I just thought it was normal to be tired all the time,” Stover told KETV.
However, on examining her the doctor told her a baby was on the way. “They ran the test again she said, ‘It’s definitely positive. We’re going to do an ultrasound,'” Stover told the news station. “She looked right at the screen and said, ‘You’re definitely pregnant.'”
Along with the pregnancy news, came medical concerns. Stover’s kidneys and livers had stopped functioning properly and doctors had to take immediate measures. She gave birth to a baby boy who was born 10 weeks early and weighed four pounds (1.81 kg).
But how did Stover not know she was expecting? And how often does this happen?
It’s called cryptic pregnancy
It sounds unbelievable that a woman can be pregnant without knowing about it for months, especially considering the physical changes and symptoms – missed period, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and weight gain – that come with a bun in the oven.
However, the phenomenon is not so rare. It is called “cryptic pregnancy” or “pregnancy denial”.
In such a scenario, a woman might learn that she is expecting a baby as late as the third trimester or when she goes into labour. There have been cases of women giving birth without knowing about the pregnancy.
According to a 2011 review, one in 475 women does not realise she is pregnant.
No signs of pregnancy?
Some with cryptic pregnancy might not experience the typical symptoms like nausea, missed periods or abdominal swelling. Some might have other medical conditions and do not read the side effects as a sign of pregnancy.
For women who experience irregular menstruation because of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) or any other condition, a missed cycle does not equal pregnancy. Women can miss their periods because of excessive exercise, being overweight or low weight, and even birth control pills. Also, “menstrual-like” bleeding during pregnancy has been reported.
Morning sickness can sometimes be associated with an upset stomach.
And there are times when home pregnancy tests can throw a false negative. If a test is taken too soon, the pregnancy cannot be detected. Diluted urine could be another reason why a test can be inaccurate. This is why women are advised to take the test first thing in the morning when urine is most concentrated.
A urine pregnancy test can come back negative because of something called the “hook effect”, Bat-Sheva Lerner Maslow, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist, told Health.com. This happens after the first trimester when levels of a pregnancy hormone can be so high that they overwhelm the test, the report says.
The risk of prematurity, low birth rate, hospitalisation, and unattended delivery. Representational picture/Pixabay
The baby bump
“Women who are very overweight or obese won’t necessarily see the physical changes that a baby is growing inside them, and the extra fat can insulate her from feeling the baby move and kick,” Mary Jane Minkin, clinical professor of ob-gyn at Yale School of Medicine told Women’s Health Mag.
Also, not all mothers-to-be have an obvious baby bump. At times, it is fairly small and can go unnoticed.
Klara Dollan, who had a cryptic pregnancy in London, told Guardian, that she was used to not getting periods and gained little weight. “There was nothing showing. I wasn’t feeling it. I had no symptoms, no cravings, no nausea – nothing. I was out of the loop of my pregnancy.”
The first time the thought she might be pregnant was as she was giving birth, the newspaper report says.
What about fetal movement?
Women, who have not experienced pregnancy before, might be unable to recognise fetal movement.
Most women feel fetal movement between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy. In the early weeks, it might be confused with abdominal gas. But there have been cases of cryptic pregnancy when women have felt no fetal movement at all, according to a research paper titled “Denial of pregnancy: obstetrical aspects”.
There have been cases of cryptic pregnancy when women have felt no fetal movement at all. Representational picture/Pixabay
The reasons for cryptic pregnancy
Various physiological or psychological theories have been suggested to explain cryptic pregnancy. While it may occur more commonly in women who have a co-existing mental health condition, many cases occur in women who have no evidence of underlying mental health problems and its cause remains unknown, according to a report published in The Conversation.
Women who don’t recognise they are pregnant are considered at risk physiologically and psychologically, the report warns.
The dangers of cryptic pregnancy
If a pregnancy progresses without proper medical care, there is a risk of complications for the mother and the baby. A to-be mother, who is not aware that she is carrying, might not pay as much attention to her health and may continue to drink and smoke, causing harm to the foetus.
An unhealthy diet, intense activity, alcohol intake, smoking and other vices can lead to miscarriage or loss of pregnancy. The risk of prematurity, low birth rate, hospitalisation, unattended delivery, or death is higher in the case of cryptic pregnancy, reports The Times of India.
A baby is a major life change and not being prepared for it can impact the mental health of mothers.
The dark past
According to a study by researcher Mona Rautelin on such cases in pre-modern Finland, women, who gave birth alone and where the baby was stillborn or died soon after birth, faced legal consequences. They could be charged with infanticide, The Conversation reports.
The research also cites modern cases from Europe and China where the “notorious fact” that women will know about their pregnancy has resulted in charges of infanticide.
In 2015, an Indian-origin woman Purvi Patel was jailed for infanticide. However, she claimed she had a stillbirth after concealed pregnancy.
With inputs from agencies
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