MUMS ONLY PLEASE - Is it really possible to be pregnant and not know it?

Question

There was an article on tv this morning about a woman who discovered she was pregnant not long before delivering. I have had two children, and while I can appreciate everyone is different, I knew both times I was pregnant due to the physical changes I was experiencing. Is possible to have NO changes to your body AT ALL. This being the reason why so many woman claim they didn't know they were pregnant till delivering?

Answer 1

Yes, this is absolutely normal, and it doesn't have to be the result of any type of "denial" or emotional problem.

Most women know they are pregnant because of the obvious - a missed period - and this usually triggers off a whole treasure hunt for other symptoms which they will find whether or not they are attributable to pregnancy. And knowing or suspecting you are pregnant makes you hyper-aware of your body anyway, so you do notice every little thing.

But a woman who has irregular or non existent periods, or is not expecting to or intending to be pregnant, or has been told she is unable to conceive, may have symptoms so mild that she either disregards them or misses them altogether. Or she actually may have no secondary symptoms at all. Combine this with an extreme body frame (like being very underweight or very overweight) and you have a good recipe for an undiagnosed pregnancy that can go almost all the way to full term - if not to actual full term. Of course, it can happen to women of average build as well but this is not as common.

But there IS also the possibility that a woman IS just in complete denial, and does need counselling.

Or finally, she could just be totally clueless about the whole thing - although it is staggering in this day and age to consider that women could be so completely ignorant about pregnancy, there are women out there who, it seems, just fell asleep in biology class.

Answer 2

With my first pregnancy, I was pretty sure that something was up several days before I even missed my first period. I couldn't stand the smell or taste of tea, coffee and chocolate, I had really sore breasts and I was so tired you could have scraped me off the floor. I remember at the time saying to my husband that I really couldn't believe that women could be pregnant and not know.

I'm now on my second pregnancy (15 weeks) and I've had a completely different experience. I had a heavy bleed at four weeks which was about 5 days long, which I just assumed was my period and because I have had absolutely no morning sickness, no food aversions, no tiredness, absolutely nothing, I didn't realise I was pregnant until I missed a period at 8 weeks. It wasn't until I had a scan that I realised that I must have been pregnant for over a month longer than I originally thought. I still haven't really had any symptoms and the only way I can convince myself that I really am pregnant is that I've felt the baby move since 14 weeks!

It just goes to show that not only is every woman different, but every pregnancy is too.

Answer 3

I think it is indeed possible to be pregnant and not know it, especially if you have never been pregnant before and are not familiar with any of the symptoms.

Sometimes there are very few symptoms:
* In some cases, there is no morning sickness, and periods actually continue throughout the pregnancy, (although usually lighter than usual).

* Regarding increased appetite: a lot of people are no longer in touch with their appetite, and always eat large amounts, never allowing themselves to ever feel hungry. Such people will not notice a changes in appetite.

* As for belly size, not everyone carries the same way, so a woman (especially an overweight woman) might not notice many changes in her abdomen's size.

* As for the kicking and internal pressure:
If you jump into a tub of hot water, you will immediately yell "Wow, this is hot!", but if you sit in warm water and the temperature is increased gradually, you may take a really long time to realize that the temperatrure has changed, and how hot it has gotten.
Same thing with pregnancy: if your only indication of pregnancy is kicking and pressure, and you start out feeling the kicks and pressure rarely and barely, and then slowly, slowly they increase, you may take a really long time to realize there is anything unusual going on. (And once you DO realize that something is amiss, you may think it is simply bad indigestion and flatulence.)

In short, I don't think that many people would NOT realize that they are pregnant; however, I suppose it is possible that there are some such people out there.

Answer 4

People have shown up at hospital emergency rooms with all kinds of things wrong with them when they had no idea they were suffering from a medical condition. Pregnancy is the least of them. And yes, it is possible that women can get well advanced in a pregnancy or even right up until delivery without knowing they were pregnant, if they didn't expect to be.

I suppose some of them could have serious emotional issues, denial and so on, some could just be completely ignorant about what it's like to be pregnant. But it's not unreasonable to expect that a certain percentage of women could coast through a pregnancy with no symptoms and if they weren't expecting to be expecting, then not see it until the last minute. Especially if they are very overweight.

Answer 5

i am a mum and almost the same thing has happened to myself . I had a miscarriage in the September, the following January i was told i was preg again. In the Feb i had a miscarriage again and i refused to go for a dnc .. As i was a fitness freak i got stuck into exercise and thought to hell with it no more tries.. Then 21weeks after that happened i had to go to my GP with a back problem when i found out i still had a baby in there I had been having twins , one came away one stayed .. he is now 26yrs old!! The only body change i had was a clothes size in that time.. I went from a 12 to a 14 . Just before i had my son i was a size 16 .. My eldest son of 38i found out i was having at 8mths ...So yes it is possible i think. Hope that helps .

Answer 6

Well I knew by the 4 weeks stage that I was pregnant every time-and by 6-8 weeks you can physically tell, well in my experience you can anyway.

However, my old boss was 6 months pregnant before she (or her doctor) realised that she was-she'd been told that her excessive throwing up etc was due to an ulcer and stress-and had been having treatment accordingly!
She hadn't gained a pound and even at full term was very tiny bumpwise-so I guess if you genuinely have no idea it's possible to put it down to other things perhaps?

Answer 7

I don't think that there are many women who experience this. But it does seem to happen. There are 700,000 babies born in the UK each year and 4 or 5 stories that come out about people who say they didn't know until they went into labour. I heard about a girl who had twins and didn't know until she was in labour! It could be people making it up, but I don't think many women would happily have no medical attention for their whole pregnancy, so maybe it is possible.

Answer 8

I found out i was expecting when i was around 6/7 months!!! i had no physical changes and only put on the weight of the baby which was 7lbs, the pregnancy went well and was a wonderful suprise as we had been trying for several years. saying that i knew straight away with my second child, had everything you could imagine!!! i suppose its true what the midwife tells you ' all pregnancies are different'

Answer 9

my friend didn't know she was pregnant untill she was 22 weeks, she didn't have any changes apart from gaining a few pounds witch she just put down to eating more, her periods were never regular any way so she didn't really notice any change there, i myself knew before i was officaly pregnant, and i don't understand how somone can't feel the baby move, i'm 21 weeks pregnant at the moment and my baby kicks like mad, but i suppose with your first baby your not aware how being pregnant feels or how the baby moving feels.

Answer 10

I didn't know that I was pregnant till the six month. I was still having my period( would last a day or two, but this is normal for me.) I only gained 13lbs my pregnancy and delivered a healthy 5lb.11oz, 19inch baby boy Feb.5. It was insane not to now, but I never had any signs that I was pregnant and my obgyn. was doing her routine exam and that is how we found out.