I didn't know I was pregnant?

rn/writer, RN · Jan 20, 2011

Hilarious, Kathy. You made me laugh!

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2011

The reason she INSISTED she couldn't possibly be pregnant--she hadn't had sex with her husband in a year. Umm ok. Her husband was shocked (the lack of relations was due to a medical condition he had surgery for and was still recovering) but pleased to have a healthy baby. We later heard the woman denied the baby was hers through discharge.

"No, no, that isn't mine. I was, um, holding it for a friend!"

Miranda, the story you shared is obviously not on the same level as the ladies on this show.

I've only seen one plausible story on that program. (I can't believe I'll admit to it, but I've wasted an entire weekend watching a marathon!) An older woman had IVF or something of that nature, but miscarried. The thing is, she miscarried ONE of the two babies she was carrying! So she was depressed, thinking she would never have children. Didn't gain weight really, had some stomach issues off and on, and was pretty much menopausal anyway.

The acting is absolutely wonderful - makes me wish I had stayed with my drama/English background, I could have been on everyone's TV yelling, "THERE'S A BABY IN MY PANTS!" as I lay on the bathroom floor.

Hey, why don't I just stop using any sort of birth control, not watch my nutrition status, keep smoking and drinking, not take a pregnancy test, lose track of my periods...because everything will be just fine if I DO get pregnant!

obnurse4u · Jan 20, 2011

I have worked in l and d for 6 years. And I have seen several patients with this story. The ones I don't believe are the ones that are small-not overweight with these big bellies! The parents are usually the ones to bring them in. I am thinking maybe they were afraid to tell their parents and hide it. There was one patient, who I truely believe didn not know! She was obese-maybe that is why she didn't feel much fetal movement, and said she had spotting through pregnancy-she thought she was going through menopause (she was 43). The look of disbelief on her and her spouses face when she got up to us from e.r was very believeable lo.

goats'r'us, ASN, RN · Jan 23, 2011

it definitely can happen, and not just because the girl's in denial of just really dumb (though I'd guess that the 'honestly didn't have a clue' scenarios are outweighed by the 'gee, so that's why I've felt like somethings kicking me in the guts' cases).

a girl I went to uni with called in sick to her practical placement because she was having stomach pains, and ended up with a babe.

she was tall and slim-ish, a really athletic build, and didn't look pregnant at all, she just looked the same. she was on the pill and always just skipped the sugar pills, so not having a period was normal for her.

she fell over and broke a rib when she was 5 months, had it xrayed and everything, and nobody noticed things shifting up.

thankfully she wasn't a big drinker, and there were no complications from her lack of prenatal care. mentally, though, she was quite shaken.

like a lot of people, I never would have thought it possible till I saw it with my own two eyes!

sharpeimom · Jan 24, 2011

my mil hadn't had a period in for close to 18 months. her only daughter was a college student. she began feeling nauseated frequently and had frequent vomiting and diarrhea. she was almost 50, and was a heavy woman, but had lost almost 15 pounds.
the doctor dx gall bladder disease and made arrangements for her to have her diseased gall bladder removed. she was admitted right after labor day weekend and an enthusiastic young intern ordered
the standard pre-op tests -- plus one more, just to be thorough.
i've been married to her diseased gall bladder for 24 years!:rolleyes:

hilarious, kathy. you made me laugh!

i'm glad i made you laugh, miranda! the rest of the story is funny too. his parents planned a christmas eve drop-in before midnight church services, and he was being delivered then! he weighed

14# 2 oz. and was delivered lady partslly with forceps. :eek: she took her rubber donut everywhere she went until after easter. :uhoh3:

casi, ASN, RN · Jun 20, 2011

These stories are amazing.

marinewifey · Jul 19, 2011

I actually just had a patient like this. Older mom, last baby was like 15 years ago. She lost weight and had spotting the entire time that she mistook for a period. Felt increasingly horrible, multiple different complaints. Saw a few different MDs and was convinced she had a hernia (as she could feel a huge "lump" on her abdomen. Lo and behold, she comes to the ER in pain and is informed that she is 38 weeks pregnant. Needless to say, she was a bit shocked. She was referring to the baby as the prettiest little hernia she'd ever seen. lol.

Most of these cases, I have trouble believing that its little more than denial. Other than the people who actually have a medical condition that might "mask" the symptoms.

caregiver1977 · Jul 19, 2011

When I had my son, had we not have been actively trying, I would have not known I was pregnant. My cycles up until that point were never normal. It was not abnormal for me to go 6 or more months without a cycle. Now a days they are more predictable. I had an anterior lying placenta so most of the times I did not feel him kick or could have passed it off as gas bubbles. I lost weight with the pregnancy and never had to wear maternity clothes with either of my kids. The only reason I even thought to test was that the smell of cabbage made me want to puke and I love cabbage. As it was I was into my 2nd trimester before I found out.

I have known women who have had this same thing to happen and cause them not to know they were pregnant until late in the pregnancy.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2011

I have known women who have had this same thing to happen and cause them not to know they were pregnant until late in the pregnancy.

Interesting how different womens' cycles can be. I remember being 7 days late and absolutely convinced I MUST be pregnant because I am never even 12 hours late! (Turns out I was stressed about the NCLEX!) Maybe my experience makes it difficult for me to believe some of these stories!

However, I find it a lot more believable that a peri-menopausal woman who has never been pregnant or hasn't been pregnant in years is unaware of her pregnancy, considering the symptoms of menopause can mimic those of pregnancy!

anurseatlast · Jul 20, 2011

I teach childbirth classes and had a mom a few years back who did not know she was pregnant for a while.

She and her second husband had raised her daughters who were 19 and 20. The woman (40yo) had not been feeling well and had seen numerous docs who told her she was perimenapausal which was causing GI upset, sore breasts, etc. This went on for a while until her husband (who was not around for the previous pregnancies) insisted she take a pregnancy test. Sure enough, she was pregnant. She called her doc who had her come in. He examined her and said, "Yes, you definitely are pregnant and have been for a while." Did an ultrasound - 32 weeks! A week later, her belly finally popped out. Until then she did not look pregnant.

When they told me (at birth classes 1 week after they found out), I said, "Wow! Sure didn't give you much time to get ready." The dad said, "An 8 week pregnancy is perfect - I am impatient. I would never have survived 9 months."

They had a beautiful baby girl and were absolutely in love with her. They said, "We were both turning 40, the girls were on their own, and we were wondering what to do next. Now we know."

RNMeg · Jul 20, 2011

I'm 7 weeks pregnant with my first, and I wouldn't have known except that I took a test on a whim. We were trying, so I had a bunch of pregnancy tests around. It was less than a week after my last "period"..which I think was just spotting because it was short and really light flow. I'm having no early-pregnancy symptoms whatsoever. I almost can't believe it, but the tests keep coming up positive! :redbeathe

stefanyjoy · Jul 22, 2011

With my daughter she kicked the crap out of me. When I was about 8 months pregnant she would stick out an elbow, a knee, whatever, and it would feel and look like I was an alien host. She got her foot stuck in my rib cage for day or two. I mean, I just can't understand how people don't know they're pregnant at least in third trimester at least.