Pregnant and not know it?

Nurses General Nursing

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I've seen a couple documentaries about women who have been pregnant but they didn't know it until they had the baby. Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch these documentaries in their entirety so I don't really understand what's going on with these women.

Recently my step-cousin had a baby (at 18 years old, very religious family... you can see where this is going) and she claimed that she didn't know she was pregnant until she had the baby.

My question is how? How can you NOT know you're pregnant? You can't feel the baby kicking? Is this just an excuse for some women, or is this a psychological phenomenon? Is there any kind of medical term or "disease" that explains this?

Thanks for the input :)

I would never have believed it until I witnessed it in person. Well, it was actually my best friend who witnessed it, but still just as valid. She adopted her daughter from a very nice couple. The birth mother was ill and taking bp meds. Due to other illnesses that she had, she has always had irregular periods. She was overweight, and her husband had had a vasectomy.

She eventually headed to the ER with what they all thought was appendicitis. After doing the u/s they realized that she was having a baby, and upon further examination, they realized the baby was starting to crown. And the baby looks identical to it's birth father so there are no questions as to whether birth mom was fooling around outside of her marriage.

They both wanted to keep the baby, but because they both had chronic health issues they decided to place her for adoption. So, yes, I've seen it. It still amazes me that there are people who just don't know, but now I believe that there are some legitimate ones out there.

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My very own sister had this happen to her.

She had gone through a harrowing time with a ruptured appendix that led to a nasty, nasty bout of peritonitis. After a long and complicated recovery, she was told that she would probably not be able to have kids.

That news left her depressed as she was only in her mid twenties and still single.

She had a lot of GI issues during her recovery. The docs said that was to be expected. Severe peritonitis is the equivalent of having acid poured on your internal organs. She lost a lot of weight between the sadness and the GI problems.

Eventually, she was able to function again. She even put on about 15 poinds. Still had the pesky tummy troubles, but nothing she couldn't handle.

Until one Sunday afternoon in June. Her gut ache was so bad that her boyfriend (now her husband) insisted that she was going to the ER. When she balked, he call 911.

By the time the EMTs arrived, she was ready to cooperate. BF followed the ambulance in their car.

He dashed into the hospital and asked about his girlfriend. The receptionist said that he had to wait a couple of minutes but that mother and baby were doing well. He told her she was mistaken, that his gf wasn't pregnant. The receptionist said that she might not be now but she had been a short time earlier. I'm amazed that he didn't pass out.

Turns out that once my sister was in the back of the ambo, she felt like she had to push. The EMTs looked and, sure enough, she was crowning. My niece came out very quickly and was none the worse for her surprise entry and a complete lack of prenatal care.

This particular hospital didn't have an OB department. The did have a large and busy ED with lots of urban trauma but all the OB/Gyn patients went to the other hospital nearby. Even so, they decided they could handle my sis and the baby and didn't put them through the hassle of a transfer.

Here's a really nice part of the story. Because the ED staff was so tickled about being a part of this "unscheduled" delivery and because it made a nice contrast to their usual knife-and-gun club admissions and especially because they could tell that my sister and her bf were a bit shell-shocked and didn't have so much as a diaper for the baby, they all chipped in and gave them an impromptu baby shower the next day.

When my mother called me that night and told me my sister--the one who almost died and would never have kids--just had a baby, I thought she was cracking a bad joke. Once I understood what had happened, I was thrilled and delighted for my sis.

That miracle baby is now 14 and she has an 8 yo brother and a 5 yo sister. Oddly enough, my sister was as big as a house with both of the younger kids, and there was no doubt that she was pregnant from about four months on.

I know there is a lot of denial out there, but sometimes it's the real deal.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

That happened to a family friend: she was obese, on the pill, had a history of irregular menstruation...and didn't realize she was carrying cargo until she was 7 or 8 months along. I don't remember if she was smoking the entire time...she might have been :( But the kid came out happy and healthy.

And like other posters have said, I can't get my head around it either, having been kicked in the cervix for months by my own son. I can't really imagine you being pregnant and not feeling a thing...but I guess it does happen to some.

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

I had a friend that just started BC and went in complaining to the doc of weight gain and fatigue. Doc attributed it to beginning bc (same with the very light to nonexistent periods). This went on for about 9 months until her father rushed her to er for such bad stomach cramping. They in turn rush her to L&D where they had to pull the baby from under her rib cage (hence no show, just all over weight gain). All of her symptoms were related to symptoms from starting bc. How scarry! NO prenatal care, out partying with bf thinking everything was fine, and sleep deprived (as many young people do when their out at the bar until all hours and then go to their 1st shift job). UGH!!! Baby was fine.:up:

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

IAB? Um, what's that?

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Induced abortion, maybe?

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

I figured out the AB was abortion but the I threw me. Yeah, it could stand for induced. I've heard of TAB, VIP, elective abortion, theraputic ab...

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You've thrown me off with the TAB and VIP. That's not for a couple more weeks :)

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Maybe I'm crazy, but I've had two kids, 8 and 10 now. Feeling the baby kick was absolutely the best thing in the world. However, now that I'm all old and fat, there are times when my belly moves (I KNOW it's gas, NOT a baby), and I SWEAR it feels just like when the babies were kicking me. :twocents:

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rn/writer: What a wonderful story! I'm so glad she was able to have a baby and that everything worked out for the best. That baby shower was especially nice :)

sparketteinok: lol!! This makes me worried that all by IBS gas issues is one day going to be a baby!

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We had a pt. (at a family practice office) who had recieved a kidney transplant and was on anit rejection meds who presented with stomach pain and heartburn for 1 mth. Doc did a exam and sent her for an ultrasound of the kidney. Imagine my surprise when the tech called and said, "Anything else you want to know other than she's pregnant?" Not only pregnant, but 32 weeks to boot! And while we were working on a referral to the High Risk OB unit, she delivered a 4 1/2 lb baby boy with no complications. And this was her second baby! :bugeyes:

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