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AIBU?

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Original poster

You would know if you were pregnant SURELY?

170 replies

Gwladgwlad · 05/10/2014 21:31

Heard one of those stories today- friend of a friend out on a friday night as normal, next day gets tummy pains & has a baby! No bump, no symptoms, out of the blue!?
SURELY you would suspect? Both my dc's were lively in my tummy, my belly moved a lot and I felt them constantly. Its not like having bad wind or something.
SURELY you would know!? Suspect things werent as per normal!
Aibu - it just leaves me amazed!!

OP posts:
passmethewineplease · 05/10/2014 21:33

YANBU. It leaves me amazed too!

The only thing I can think of is that some symptoms may of been there but they were put down to something else? That's what it seems like on the program I didn't know I was pregnant anyway..

ThinkIveBeenHacked · 05/10/2014 21:33

YABU.

Not all pregnancies are the same.

And clearly she didnt know, unless you are calling her a liar.

AMillionNameChangesLater · 05/10/2014 21:33

I've met two women who found out they were pregnant at 7 months. They had no bump at all

CarmineRose1978 · 05/10/2014 21:34

I can't get my head around those stories, either. I'm seven months pregnant, and seriously, I can TELL. Not just him wriggling around, but the "swallowed a basketball" feeling when I try to bend forwards, the swollen ankles and hands, the tiredness, the SPD.... I know that many women have much smoother pregnancies than I am having, but surely the rock-hard tummy and the movements would awaken some suspicion?

effinandjeffin · 05/10/2014 21:35

You would think so, wouldn't you?

However, I have a friend who is a midwife who didn't realise she was pregnant til she was seven months gone.

Bearfrills · 05/10/2014 21:35

Someone I went to baby group with didn't know she was pregnant. Periods stopped, she did a HPT and it was negative. Went to GP, they did a urine test which was also negative. She gave it two weeks, tested again, still negative. Went back to GP, they did a blood test and the blood test was positive. A couple of months later she went to her 12-week dating scan which showed she was 29 to 32 weeks pregnant (harder to get an exact gestation at that age). Eight weeks later, baby.

RufusTheReindeer · 05/10/2014 21:35

My mum found out she was pregnant with me at 6 months

Only because she was feeling a bit queasy after she came back from a trip abroad and went to the doctor

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 05/10/2014 21:36

I believe it can happen - especially if you carry on getting what look like fairly normal periods throughout, as some women do. If you thought you were having regular periods, and if you had tight stomach muscles, so didn't get much of a bump, and if you didn't get any of the normal symptoms of pregnancy, and had a baby that didn't move much, why would you suspect you might be pregnant?

I do accept that for all of these things to coincide must be pretty rare, though!

Original poster
Gwladgwlad · 05/10/2014 21:36

Not calling anyone a liar??? Just amazed by it- I appreciate all pregnancies are different. Just can't get my head around the fact that you wouldnt suspect a teensy bit!

OP posts:
BotoxednSpanxed · 05/10/2014 21:37

yanbu. I felt like i was carrying a hippo for the last few months, i could see the hippo's feet stick out of me when she stretched. To begin with i felt nauseated the whole time. The middle stretch I had migraines. Not to mention the constipation and the blue veins that appeared on my suddenly enormous bosoms.

It is BEYOND me how people can be pregnant and not know.

redexpat · 05/10/2014 21:37

Once read an article about this - think it was after a female soldier gave birth at camp bastion. Apparently its quite connon, i think it said 1 in 600 births were a surprise. it also said that if you dont think you could be pg, eg if you were using contraception, then you tend not to consider it a possibility. Which makes sense.

BotoxednSpanxed · 05/10/2014 21:39

how did those people that didn't realise they were pregnant find putting on their socks? was that any more difficult than usual?

BlinkAndMiss · 05/10/2014 21:39

I always thought this was rubbish, until it happened to two people I know within 6 months of each other. One larger lady, who said the bump was mainly disguised because she was large anyway and then one small lady who really, really shouldn't have been able to get away without noticing. Neither of them knew until they were in A&E. They didn't have any symptoms at all.

It's never the case with me, when I was pregnant with DS I was the size of a house within 3 months and was sick every day until month 6. I can't imagine not knowing, but I firmly believe it happens.

LiverpoolLou · 05/10/2014 21:39

I can believe it. I rarely felt DD move, in fact she only did if I poked her (still like that today), although I was huge and obviously pregnant. DS had a 24/7 party going on but I never put on any weight at all and wore the same clothes throughout my pregnancy. Most people did not know I was pregnant and wondered where the baby had come from. So I can see how if those 2 factors were combined into 1 pregnancy it would be possible to not know.

Passmethecrisps · 05/10/2014 21:39

I also find it hard to understand as my pregnancy was very noticeable.

However, all pregnancies are different and what is the alternative to them not knowing? They are all lying? I imagine some do ignore or simply cannot cope with the reality but anterior placenta and confusing symptoms with other conditions could go some way to explaining it.

It must be terribly hard to cope with a newborn you had no idea was going to exist up until very soon before birth. It is hard enough with planned and prepared birth

Bearfrills · 05/10/2014 21:39

Also my cousin didn't have a bump, at all. She knew she was pregnant because see had positive tests and scans but even at nine months pregnant she was wearing her normal clothes and didn't look at all pregnant, she even bled for 3-4 days every four weeks for her entire pregnancy. Lots of people didn't even realise she'd been pregnant until they saw her pushing a pram afterwards. If she hadn't had scans and positive HPTs I can quite easily see how someone could not realise they were pregnant.

Original poster
Gwladgwlad · 05/10/2014 21:41

Its the 'i can feel something moving inside me' part that amazes me the most- even if you have a baby that doesnt move about much, babies still move a bit in your tummy! You would surely suspect a little bit!!

OP posts:
BigWLittleJ · 05/10/2014 21:42

It amazes me too. I have known one woman who at nine months pregnant was still in her size 8s and had no discernible bump whatsoever. I hadn't seen her for almost a year when I bumped into her and she mentioned her pregnancy. You could have knocked me down with a feather when she told me how far along she was.

What I don't understand with the "I didn't know I was pregnant" stories is how on earth do they not feel the movement? Both my babies were mini acrobats intent on stretching my skin as far as they could by the end.

Fluffycloudland77 · 05/10/2014 21:42

I knew a woman who was nearly 7 months when she found out. It's her second too.

Bearfrills · 05/10/2014 21:42

I'm definitely not pregnant and I feel phantom kicks, jiggles and stretches. I put them down to wind.

WorraLiberty · 05/10/2014 21:43

My DS's friend's Mum had stomach aches and sickness, so went to see her GP.

It turned out she was 7 months pregnant and went into complete shock!

It was her 3rd DC too, so she has no idea how she didn't notice, although she was quite overweight to begin with so that might have played a part.

ElephantsNeverForgive · 05/10/2014 21:43

It can happen, it is possible not to know until you go into labour.

Big young woman, half heartedly dieting, wasn't surprised to feel rotten as had had glandular fever, periods didn't stop. Had been using condoms and long since split with BF.

Very sensible person, absolutely would have got antenatal care if she'd known.

Bearfrills · 05/10/2014 21:43

When I was pregnant with DD I had an anterior placenta and she was facing my spine, I rarely felt any movements.

NormHonal · 05/10/2014 21:45

Happened to a friend of mine. Pregnancy tests all negative. GP repeatedly said no, definitely not pregnant. Hmm

Have also heard of a friend-of-a-friend, medical professional, who didn't realise until late on.

Not first pregnancy in either case.

Silvercatowner · 05/10/2014 21:45

I didn't realise I was pregnant with my 1st until I was 4 months. It just hadn't occurred to me. When I found out, all the typical pregnancy symptoms kicked in - including morning sickness. I swear I hadn't been feeling nauseous at all, but the day after I found out, it was full on. So weird.