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Original poster

Do 'surprise' babies really exist?

95 replies

JinglingHellsBells · 27/05/2019 16:46

In todays' news.

Stacey aged 20 gave birth on her bathroom floor. She did not know she was pregnant. She was having periods still and on the Pill.

In the time she gave birth, she tried to phone her partner who was asleep downstairs ( 60 times) and he didn't answer.

(She didn't seem to think to call 999.)

Would she not...
Put on weight
Feel the baby move
Have some inkling there was a baby there?

OP posts:
LynetteScavo · 27/05/2019 19:55

As someone who knew pretty much immediately due to all the throwing up, I can see why it's hard to believe some people don't know they're pregnant...but in RL I know people it's happened to.

I've no idea where the baby was inside them, and why they weren't wadding, and why labour was like an upset stomach (!) but it happens.

Prokupatuscrakedatus · 27/05/2019 20:11

it happens ...
I went to my gyn for my regular yearly check up (not UK). He asked me the date of my last period, I told him, light, painless and regular as usual. He did the sono check: "That date can't be right, have a look!" And there was DS paddling about, I had no idea. I was that far gone that they had to estimate a date of birth, giving me a marign of 6 weeks.

An old NDN always had us children over because she could not have her own. Until she was bluelighted to the hospital with appendictis - her appendix was named Oliver.

ICouldBeSomebodyYouKnow · 27/05/2019 20:30

Happened to a colleague's aunt. The couple already had an 18yo son. The whole family were in shock!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
ErrantTesselation · 27/05/2019 20:50

I find the stories of women who had periods all the way through really fascinating (& I know someone who says she did). For anyone that happened to - were they regular and as heavy as usual?

Prokupatuscrakedatus · 27/05/2019 21:42

@ErrantTesselation
My periods were light (think 1 pad not quite filled in 24 hours), painless and regular as clockwork from the first aged 12 to that last. Apart from the migraine, I never really noticed them.

Ravingstarfish · 27/05/2019 21:45

When I was pregnant my periods stopped and I did a positive test, had no other symptoms, was a size 8 throughout, didn’t feel any movement until 32weeks and just felt like wind really.
My friend had periods and negative tests with her first. So I do think it can happen

m0therofdragons · 27/05/2019 21:47

My cousin had one. In a&e doubles over in pain her mum said to the consultant "this is how I remember labour, are you sure she's not pregnant?!" Consultant said "definitely not. We are 99% sure it's her appendix" 4hours later she gave birth to a 9lb 10oz baby! She's tall and broad. I saw her a month before she gave birth and she'd put on a bit of weight but she and her boyfriend had split after 2yrs so didn't think anything more of it. She didn't look pregnant... I on the other hand was obviously pg from 4 months.

Babblepook · 27/05/2019 22:25

No. These women are either having mental health issues and in denial or they’re lying.

And you cannot have normal periods throughout a pregnancy. A normal period by definition is the shedding of your womb lining.

Babblepook · 27/05/2019 22:27

And rubbish that a consultant couldn’t tell a woman at 9 months pregnant. Just feeling the stomach instantly they can tell. And if you suggested it they would Check it not dismiss it

These threads are always full of ‘my cousin’ ‘a friend of a friend bollocks’

ILoveMaxiBondi · 27/05/2019 22:31

Lots of women don’t have regular periods anyway so a gap of 6/7/8 months isn’t out of the ordinary for them.

And some women do bleed as normal while pregnant.

Iamtheworst · 27/05/2019 22:34

You know the experience of every woman on earth Babblepook?

Was the dr who examined me also having mental health issues?

No woman in my family have obvious pregnancy symptoms, no morning sickness, waddling, or piles. I’m tall and broad and apparently had amazing abs.

I guess I’ll never convince you but why would you assume that you can declare something with absolute certainty.

ReggaetonLente · 27/05/2019 22:36

I knew someone it happened to... three times!

She was very young the first time, in her teens, then it happened again a few years later and a few years again after that. She gave birth on the loo the first time, at work the second, the third I think she made it to hospital.

There is definitely an element of being in denial for this woman, imo.

Poppins2016 · 27/05/2019 22:42

you know how after you've had a baby, wind can really really feel like a baby kicking, but you had the same feelings for years beforehand and its only now you've been through pregnancy you recognise the sensations as similar

Glad it's not just me. Only yesterday I was thinking that it felt like there was a baby kicking in there (yet it really was just wind)!

I can understand how the opposite happens, particularly if someone is overweight and can't see the kicks/movement.

listsandbudgets · 27/05/2019 22:43

It happened to my Sunday school teacher. She was a lovely shall we say plump lady. One Sunday in the middle of reading us Jonah and the Whale she started screaming in pain and an ambulance was called..The next week, two weeks later she turned up with a baby. Complete surprise especially to her!

NeverSayFreelance · 27/05/2019 22:44

I'm no pregnancy expert but these stories happen way too often to not be true. Besides, if you've never been pregnant before you maybe wouldn't recognise the signs?

chamenanged · 27/05/2019 22:49

I'm no pregnancy expert but these stories happen way too often to not be true.

I always think the opposite tbh - these stories come up so often that some of them have to be lies. I'm particularly sceptical (although hugely sympathetic) where the new mother is very young. I always imagine that she's probably actually known or suspected but couldn't bear to acknowledge it and it's just got out of hand.

LaLaLamp · 27/05/2019 22:50

Yep, I know someone who had one recently. Started having it on the loo.

ImNotNigel · 27/05/2019 22:50

I know a woman who thought she was peri menopausal , she was tall and quite ..em...fat . She didn’t know she was pg until she went into labour at work. As she worked in the fire brigade control room there were plenty first aiders around Grin.

She and her husband were over the moon once they got over the shock. They had given up trying for a baby years before.

And I know of another three younger women who knew they were pregnant but no one else around them did.

One was a teenager who lived with her parents , they didn’t know until she went into labour in her bedroom at home and called her mum.

Another was a probationer teacher , again none of her colleagues spotted it. She had her baby at the weekend and turned up at work on Monday and told everyone she’d had a baby. They all thought she was lying and were concerned for her mental health ( correctly of course ). She was very cross when the head teacher sent her home, insisted she got medical attention and called her university supervisor.

I don’t know the back ground because she didn’t come back to the school.

Another was a student nurse on a gynaecology ward. My friend was her line manager and had no idea about the pregnancy until she gave birth. My friend felt like a complete fool.

What strikes me about all these cases is that the women were surrounded by other women , mostly mothers or with some experience of life . And yet no one spotted it. So I guess it’s possible to physically hide a full term pregnancy .

I have no idea how as I was like the back end of a bus each time.

Clankboing · 27/05/2019 22:51

Did she call him Jonah?

GetUpAgain · 27/05/2019 22:58

I did think she should have phoned 999 when her partner snoozed downstairs! But I suppose its utterly shocking. Good luck Stacey I hope you have found mumsnet now Flowers

MamaRaisingBoys · 27/05/2019 23:05

I know someone who kept the pregnancy a secret, wouldn’t even admit she was having a baby whilst rolling around in pain in labour. She loved with her parents and her mum was a midwife!

I don’t know anyone who actually didn’t know though

FuckMNDoubleStandards · 27/05/2019 23:06

All this ever reminds me of is Sonia from Eastenders way back!

frenchonion · 27/05/2019 23:25

I found out at 24 weeks with one of mine. It's only because we were semi TTC for a few weeks that I found out as I'd bought some tests in anticipation. I took a test out of boredom one day, even though I didn't think I was pg. It was BFP. So when I went for my 12 week scan I was told I was 24! Had we not been TTC and had I not taken that test I think I could have easily got to 35 weeks as I had no bump. I did get massive at the end though and went overdue, but had I gone into labour early I'd never have known. People ask about kicks but they're only super obvious when you know what they are, even the big kicks. I've had two pints of cider tonight and my stomach is doing flips and gurgling and bumping and popping away, so much so that I can convince myself it is baby kicks if I try. I'm also very slim, so I imagine if I had been bigger framed generally I could have hot even further than 35. I'd never disregard surprise pregnancies now!

aurynne · 27/05/2019 23:51

I probably wouldn't believe it myself if I did not have a relative by marriage who had not one, but two silent pregnancies. She is extremely thin (suffered from eating disorder in adolescence) and was happily married, planning to have children in the future, eating and drinking normally, going to social events, no reason to consciously "hide" a pregnancy. No one noticed. Not her, not her husband, not her parents or family members. taken to A&E with excruciating abdominal pains. gave birth to a girl.

Swore it would never happen to her again. Same thing happened 3 years later. this time it was a boy. No idea she was pregnant, no idea where she hid the two babies, as they were both a very normal, healthy birth weight.

Unbelievable but true!

PickAChew · 28/05/2019 00:00

I had a couple of colleagues who had no idea they were pregnant until they were at least 7 months gone. One was long and one was pudgy (her words), so neither showed until then.