Women who don't know they're pregnant

[StarNurse2006]

Just curious about this...

I think everyone has heard stories about women who had no idea they were pregnant and then suddenly delivered. I had heard a story like this about a friend of my Mom's, thought "yeah right, whatever," and forgot about it.

However, my MIL was one of these women. With her second child she said that she had no idea she was pregnant, because she was overweight, on the pill, and had a period every month during her pregnancy. While on vacation in Las Vegas (we live in Southern California) she felt ill (abdominal pain and vomiting), and her husband drove her to Sunrise Hospital. You can imagine his surprise 30 minutes later (there is a family history of extremely short labors) when a nurse came out and informed him "It's a Girl!" It probably didn't help that he'd been drinking all night. LOL :rotfl: Ever since, my sister-in-law has been know as the "Sunrise Surprise."

People absolutely do not believe me when I tell them this story, but I believe her! After all, she had one child before and knew what pregnancy was like. I admit I wouldn't be rushing to take a pregnancy test if I was on the pill and having my period each month. It's harder to explain away the kicking and movement of the baby (thought I was going to die with #2 because my daughter was trying to come out my bellybutton!) but still...anyone have any experience/stories with this?

Jennee

[CEG]

In later pregnancy, there must be some serious denial going on if a woman claims not to be pregnant.

.

I have three kids and my first and third beat me up from the inside with their punches and kicks. My second terrified me daily- I rarely felt him move and they were always subtle. I had an anterior placenta with my second /and third and could tell the difference from my first but my second baby just was not a mover. I think if I had no idea I was pregnant I could easily have ignored his movements.

[BabyRN2Be]

I probably should have said something like, "There must be serious denial going on if a woman is passing off strong baby movements on something else." I've only had one, and I did have an anterior placenta with her. However the anterior placenta didn't muffle any of her movements. But I do understand that different babies move differently in pregnancy. My little girl was in constant motion, which was normal for her. However, if I had a second one, maybe that baby would not move so much. I'd love to have another, but I'm not so sure that will come to pass.

[McBx3]

I totally agree. It's like ultrasound. People are aghast at someone who doesn't have multiple ultrasounds in their pregnancy. And yet- ultrasound does not fix or change anything. In rare cases it can warn of a problem, but it cannot fix that problem or improve the outcome. Ultrasounds cause incredible stress for many women, inaccurately estimate weights and due dates (in later pregnancy), and cost $$$$$$. Yet it is the standard of care. I think I need to work in a different field:)

I can relate to the ultrasound thing... at my 18 week ultrasound, the nurse typed in the due date wrong, and my OB kept going on and on about how much bigger my baby was than she should be... I was like, "what?!" cuz my first was tiny... so anyway, they schedule me for another U/S in a few weeks, and I'm sitting at home looking at the printout when I notice the due date I told them what happened, but they did the next one anyway (I didn't mind though, cuz I'm a sucker for the things LOL). And turns out, she WAS born small, just like her sister LOL

[McBx3]

is anyone else getting totally freaked out by this thread and thinking could this be me??? i don't have periods cuz i'm still breastfeeding my baby, although 18 months really isn't a baby anymore, is it? noticed my pre prego pants are now getting tight again, hmmm. i took a test back in feb, not cuz i thought i was prego but just to be sure i wasn't before i got my mmr, of course it was neg. i think i'm just trippin, i feel way to good to be prego...i think???

Haha... mine will be a year old in a few days, and even though I got my periods back 2 months ago, I'm STILL getting the urge to test reading all these! LOL

[coffee4metech]

OMG OMG OMG......How could you not know you are pregnant I was throwing up for 5months. 3 weeks into my pregnancy I had a "feeling" something was not right with me took a test , then went to the doctor to confirm for my health insurance . And sure enough I was rigth on the money , I think some women are in denial and also larger women have a hard time seeing the baby bump because they are large to begin with Sorry for being to blunt but its true ..

[natusia84]

I heard that happens, but working in a community hosptial that serves a lot of teenagers who come in with their mothers -shocked- that they are pregnant always makes me a skeptic.