Patient didn't know she was pregnant

Destinystar · Jul 19, 2004

she did admit to being in denial. makes me think she knew all along. poor woman. she might have been so busy with her other kids and job that she just could not deal with it. i think you are on to something when you stated that maybe she had to go down this road in fear that her husband may have not wanted her to go through with the pregnancy. she sounds like a trooper to me. i know the newspapers are filled with stories about women giving birth in airplane bathrooms, teenagers delivering infants in toilets, etc then walking away and no one even noticing that they were pregnant. my babysitter told me that her daughter in law kept her pregnancy a secret for 5 months. no one can figure out why. gosh look at lacy what happened to her and her unborn child, many other pregnant women have also been murdered. i am happy to hear that this woman delivered normally and that her and the baby are alive and well and doing fine:)

the other night a lady (g5 p2 a2) came into our ob unit with her membranes grossly ruptured and she started off by saying she had her 1st prenatal visit 2 days earlier and that she had been in "denial" about this pregnancy. i got her into a room and checked her and she was 5 cm and her uc's were about 2-3 minutes apart. she had actually just called her mom prior to leaving home to tell her that she was pregnant and going to the hospital at that moment to have the baby. imagine the surprise? her husband had just found out a few days earlier as well. she told me that she had a period on and off the entire pregnancy and for the longest time she just wasn't sure if she was pregnant or not. she was a heavy set woman so it would have been fairly easy to keep the news from everyone else, but i just found it bizzare because she had already experienced 2 other full term pregnancies so how could she have not realized? i can't get the whole situation out of my head because of her h/o abortions (not m/c's). she had one prior to having kids and then another one after her last child (5 y/o). the mom was in her 30's. we were all wondering if she kept her pregnancy a secret because maybe she was afraid the father would want her to get rid of it? she kept saying she had so much stress at home and at work. when the baby came he actually seemed happier than she did. :uhoh21: talk about a strange situation. have you ever seen anything like this before?

colleen10 · Jul 19, 2004

I think a lot of the thoughts that you and your co-workers are valid ones.

I once worked in an office with a woman who kept her pregnancy secret, didn't tell a soul, not even her boss. One day she just doesn't show up for work and didn't return for several weeks. Turns out she was pregnant, hid it, had the baby and gave it up for adoption because she was married and the child was not her husbands. They were a nice, average, middle class family too. Appeared to outsiders to be a nice 30 year old down to earth lady til this all happened.

I also went to high school with a girl who hid her pregnancy from everyone in her entire family until she went into labor. That was easier to understand since she had recently graduated high school and was in college when she got pregnant.

nurseLori · Jul 19, 2004

I work in an assisted living facility, and one of our resident's only daughters swears that happened to her as well. :stone

I first met the daughter when I was admitting to the facility. She was also heavy set, and at the time I didn't think to myself "gosh, she looks pregnant" just a normal larger lady.

About two days later the resident told me she was a new grandma. I said "I didn't know your daughter was pregnant?!" and she replied "none of us did, not even her" :confused: the daughter says she didn't have any insurance, and had been to a doctor for abdominal discomfort about 6 moths ago, he ran every test in the book, but not a pregnancy test, becuase she tought she was in menopause. He had told her she had a small tumor. Well then she was having horrible pains, and finally went to the ER, where she found out she was in labor!

When she finally came in with the baby, sure enough whe was no longer a larger lady, but a thin lady. I never would have guessed she was pregnant looking back on it, she had a large mid section and some rolls, but not a big beach ball belly like most.

They still swear that no one new she was pregnant, and in fact they were not only celebrating the new life, but that the daghter didn't have a tumor after all!

You never know these days!:chuckle

smk1, LPN · Jul 20, 2004

my mom had a friend that was quite heavy and she was pregnant and didn't know it (late in life pregnancy thought she was starting menopause) anyway they were shopping and she kept hae stomach cramps and thought she had to go to the bathroom and ended up delivering the baby in the mall bathroom! (this ws her 7th kid so quick easy delivery i guess) my question since becoming a mom myself is, DIDN"T SHE FEEL ANY KICKING!!? lord my kid kicked and punched the crap out of my uterus, you'd think she woulkd have felt something.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 20, 2004

I'm an ER RN and here's my few stories about "I just couldn't be pregnant pts!"

1. 13 y/o chubby girl - delivered in our triage area - stated that she didn't really "go all the way"

2. 25 y/o lady (fairly thin too) - who was constipated - took off her daisy dukes and voila - there's a head down there! Yikes!

apwilson · Jul 20, 2004

we have those a good bit in my unit but it doesnt' compare to comint in labor and not only not be pregnant but not even having a uterus!

she did admit to being in denial. makes me think she knew all along. poor woman. she might have been so busy with her other kids and job that she just could not deal with it. i think you are on to something when you stated that maybe she had to go down this road in fear that her husband may have not wanted her to go through with the pregnancy. she sounds like a trooper to me. i know the newspapers are filled with stories about women giving birth in airplane bathrooms, teenagers delivering infants in toilets, etc then walking away and no one even noticing that they were pregnant. my babysitter told me that her daughter in law kept her pregnancy a secret for 5 months. no one can figure out why. gosh look at lacy what happened to her and her unborn child, many other pregnant women have also been murdered. i am happy to hear that this woman delivered normally and that her and the baby are alive and well and doing fine:)

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 20, 2004

I went to nursing school with a really chubby gal who was always having abdominal pain. She said her periods were irregular because of some "female problems" and that she and her husband had been trying for years to get pregnant, and had given up on the whole idea. She went home from clinical one day and delivered a full term infant. First she knew she was pregnant was when she felt the head as she was sitting on the toilet with "abdominal cramps." No denial there -- that woman was counting the days until she could get her nursing license and a "real job" so that they could afford to adopt!

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2004

I have had 2 instances in the ER of folks who really did not know they were pregnant. One woman was very thin, came in jeans and tshirt, did not look pregnant until she was laying down and you could see a little paunch. Checked for FHT's and they were ticking right along. She swore she could not be pregnant because they had just given away all of their baby furniture! She was in the ER with her mom cause hubby was home watching the kids. She came in with belly pain, was dilated to 10 on arrival, whisked her up to L&D stat where she delivered a healthy 7 lb baby. Next was a women who had no kids and did not want any. Came in the ER with abdominal pain and destension. She was average sized but said she had been putting on weight lately. She initially refused ultrasound but hubby talked her into it to prove us wrong (FHT"S loud and clear). She said we were really going to be embarrassed when there was no baby on ultrasound, of course there was one and she was close to delivery. Even after seeing the ultrasound she said the baby was NOT HERS! Delivered a few hours later. OB nurses said she finally came to accept it and they were excited finally. Gee...both these were reasonably educated, middle class women who you would think would know better.One of our ER nurses a few years ago was 6 months along before she knew. She had been trying for years without success to get pregnant and thought she could not. She even had her gallbladder out early in the pregnancy and no one ever checked. She thought her nausea and "bloating" was all part of the gall bladder problem. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl 2 months after she found out. She and hubby were ectatic!

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 20, 2004

I have personally witnessed stories this (and more) bizarre as an OB nurse of 7 years. This does not surprise me in the least, having seen what I have. Sad.

at your cervix · Jul 20, 2004

I have also seen many of these cases most common in teenagers.

I have a friend who is also an L&D nurse and had a patient once that came in in labor, swore she wasn't pregnant depsite the fht's and ultrasound. She delivered shortly after and still continued to tell everyone that they were wrong, there was no way that she could be pregnant--even after delivery!!!!!

USC2001 · Jul 22, 2004

I had a heavy-set pt one time that went to her doc for dizziness, nausea, heartburn, etc. Her BP was up and they perscribed a BP med without doing the pregancy test. Well a couple weeks later she goes to the ER (of the only hospital in town without an L&D unit) and her BP is through the roof and her platlets are way low. Well, someone does a test and an ultra sound and she is 35 weeks. She is sent to us and has an emergency section due to pre-eclampsia. Within I think 4 hrs she found out she was pregant and had a c-section and was holding the baby. She was happy, but a little shocked!

I have also had the "I'm in labor" pts.... oh wait never mind you just escaped from the pysch floor. We had one lady come via EMS c/o SROM at "8 months" no prenatal care. She wouldn't let us put the EFM on for anything. We though it was an abuse situation with the FOB so we sent him out but she still wouldn't let us. Turns out she was wearing a fake belly and had been lying to the "FOB" to keep him and that night when he threatened to leave she said her water had broken and he had called EMS. We ordered her a pysch consult and SW visit but she slipped out before they came (we unfortunately have a back stair door that no-one can get it without a badge but they can get out)

Craziness! :rotfl: