To wonder how someone can not know that they are pregnant?

[Eemamc]

Worcester woman gave birth without knowing she was pregnant www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-43956316

I used to wonder about this, but having had a baby last year, I don’t know how you couldn’t know? Maybe if you gave birth at 20 Weeks or near that possibly, but after that?

I knew because i just did and i knew my body however i had no sickness and shocked several patients when told them going on maternity leave as i had a small neat bump. Yes i can see how you eouldnt know

I was 19 and my periods didn’t stop. They were as regular as clockwork, albeit light. I found out at 20 weeks because I felt something moving around in there. I didn’t have any visible bump for several weeks after that.

I did have severe symptoms (sickness, exhaustion, etc) but because I was still having periods my GP elected to test for things like leukaemia rather than doing a pregnancy test.

I can see how you wouldn’t know.

I had very few symptoms in my first 2 pregnancies aside from missing periods. No noticeable baby bump even .
Anterior placentas both times too, which muffled baby movements until I was quite far on, even with me actively trying to keep an eye on movements. There were several times I went into hospital due to reduced movement, only to find that the monitors were picking up lots of baby movements that I simply couldn’t feel because of a combination of the anterior placenta and the baby’s position.

If I’d had a reason for missing periods other than actively TTC (menopause, pill etc) then I could easily have got most of the way through the pregnancies before the baby movements got suspicious.

I guess if you’re not aware of a pregnancy it’d be easy to assume small / muffled baby movements were wind or muscle spasms.

I didn't know for 5 months. Given up trying after 8 years, no periods for a couple years from PCOS, was losing weight (work stress), had stopped throwing up regularly, was craving caffeine...
Luckily I went for routine blood tests! I was starting to suspect but after so many false hopes I was too scared to test. Only put on about half a stone overall.

I dont feel I missed out on pregnancy though. With dc2 I knew and felt sick from about 3 days post conception, and aside from all the early pregnancy worry and bleeding etc, it seemed to go on for bloody forever!

I thought I was around 14-16weeks pregnant, had my booking appointment (after another 4 weeks due to miscommunication between the GP reception and midwife) on the Tuesday with a dating scan booked in for the following Friday.
I needed to cancel the scan two days before as my full term 9lb 2oz baby had been born three hours after a shift at work.
Still had periods, didn't spend a penny on new clothes as float between a size 10 and 12.
Only pregnancy symptoms were a sore back and feet but was working 50 hour weeks in a pub including cellar work.
Now the proud owner of a healthy 20 week old boy!

it happened to my friend - second child - periods continued, I'm not going to tell her story but she thought she had appendicitis until the baby crowned - it was a huge shock and had a massive impact on her

When DD1 was aged 7 months I was pregnant and didn't know. Periods had returned, no pregnancy symptoms whatsoever until I got a few twinges in my back, went to GP, and he said "could you be pregnant'. I said No - no symptoms at all. He did a test..I was 18 weeks pregnant. & I wasn't showing at all then - no bump.

Before then I was sceptical on hearing women didn't know they were pregnant, especially when they're had a child already. Now I know differently.

Silk didn't know until she was 24ish weeks with her first.

She was very thin too so no idea where the baby went.

This thread is terrifying.This is literally my worst nightmare.

My DD didn't find out until 25/26 weeks with her second baby. She was taking the pill had regular but lightish periods. Slight weight gain but still wearing size 8 trousers, but as she was eating lots of takeouts she assumed that was the reason her jeans were getting tight, she was going to cut down after Christmas. Like pp have said, once she realised, her bump expanded and baby became very active. She was worried sick because as she didn't know she was pregnant she had been drinking alcohol and hadn't taken care with her diet. Thankfully DGS was born perfectly healthy and weighed in at a few grams short of being classed as a big baby.

Up to 4 weeks before dd was born (she was 2 weeks late) Physically I didn't look pregnant. Was called fat by random people in the street.
My bump grew over the course of a few hours one day. Literally watched it grow.
I did have dreadful morning sickness and heartburn and felt baby kicking and knew I was pregnant from virtually day 1.

I do know someone who didn't know. She was obese and she hadn't had a period for 18 months. Went to the Drs because of recurrent indigestion only to be told she was 4 weeks before she gave birth

Because not everyone experiences pregnancy in the same way. I didn’t know I was pregnant until I went into labour with my first. I had periods throughout, I felt no movements, I didn’t have a bump. How was I meant to know?? I was a size 16, so hardly obese, but I was wearing the same clothes I’d always worn.
When I had dc2 18 months later, I spent the pregnancy vomiting copiously, I had spd and I generally felt very pregnant...but I still didn’t have a bump, I left work at 38 weeks and 2 people asked where I was going..they had no idea I was pregnant. I’ve never worn maternity clothes.

I didn't actually know until I was 33 weeks, I don't really get periods anyway (can go up to 8 months without - no periods and not pregnant). I did have a really bad bug for about 8 days (where I would've been about 10 weeks) I think that was morning sickness but it just didn't occur to me at the time. I had gotten quite large (size 16, big for me as I'm 5ft) and didn't have a bump as such. Just looked fat. I put it down to my comfort eating.
Anyway,
I found out because I ended up in hospital with a fracture and they wanted to do a pregnancy test before they x rayed me as I was unable to tell them when my last period was.

I spent the rest of my pregnancy in complete shock and I do wonder if I would've otherwise found out. I genuinely did not know at all and it was a less than ideal time too (I was in the process of emigrating) , but too late to do anything (rightly so).

I also find these threads quite insulting at times. The insinuation that you’re either a liar or too stupid to notice if this happens to you.
Why would I lie? I was in a stable relationship, had a nice home, a full time job and was generally very happy, I wouldn’t purposely drink and smoke my way through a pregnancy I knew about. It’s just rude to make that assumption.
‘But you MUST have felt movements’ ....why MUST I? Even the pregnancies I knew about I rarely felt them move, my anatomy I guess? I don’t know, but it made for extremely stressful pregnancies that involved regular monitoring.

My own mother when pregnant with me had no idea until almost 5 months. No symptoms, no bump (slim too and I've seen pics definitely no bump and even at almost full term she looks only 5/6 months gone) still bleeding monthly. Only found out due to a fainting spell. Like a pp when she was leaving work to have me several were confused and asked why she was leaving.

Another lady I met when I was in hospital having dd. She was obese but also otherwise no symptoms plus she had pcos and had actually been ttc for several years. Was in process of getting to do Ivf. 39 weeks when she found out! Totally elated as was her husband who was sent with a LONG shopping list to get all they needed.

Also a neighbour - very slim, not her first pregnancy, still bled, no other symptoms... I actually saw her days before no way she looked pregnant. Then a few days after saw her with baby.

Rare but it happens.

There is someone on here who didn't know. Not sure if it is the one in classics but if I remember rightly she was a students, got abdo pain so a friend called an ambulance and by the time it go to her she had a baby, I think her first words to the ambulance crew were," Get that thing away from me"

Strong abs / pevic floor, vastly underweight /overweight and pear shaped women won’t always develop a huge bump. My sister and several friends didn’t show at all until 7 and a half months and even then only went up by half a size.

With my first I could have easily got to 30 weeks without an idea if I’d carried on having periods because I had no bump until then! Then I went for several growth scans because of how small I was then at 39 weeks I seemed to balloon and dd was born 7lb 3oz. My second there was no mistaking I was a whale from start to finish.

My friend had periods all the way through all 3 of her pregnancies! If shed have had no bump she wouldn’t have known either. It was only constant sore boobs that made her test with the third.

It’s strange and I don’t think it happens that often but it can happen for various different reasons

I knew someone it happened to twice. She had an inverted womb so baby grew inwards - had periods throughout and no other symptoms! It genuinely happens. I didn't find out til 10 weeks - no symptoms except missed periods which tests showed negative until 10 weeks!! But I was soon the size of a bus!

Not sure I agree pregnancy is a “special time!”

I found out I was pregnant with Dd when I was 23 weeks.
I had changed my contraception to the depot injection so the symptoms I put as depot side effects.

I only found out I was pregnant when I went back to the GP to change my contraception as I didnt feel it was suiting me.....

If my current pregnancy was my 1st I would agree with you OP (hyperemesis from week 4, movements from early on despite anterior placenta and a sodding huge bump). However I can well believe it if women have pregnancies like my 1st (tall with good stomach muscles so no bump, no sickness, minimal tiredness, absolutely sailed through it) especially if you add in regular bleeding, not taking a test, and all the other aforementioned reasons.

I wish I'd not found out at 4 weeks, it wouldn't have dragged so much. 😂
A friend of mine is a size 6 and tiny and she really didn't even look pregnant until she was very nearly 8 months then all of a sudden she popped! Lol.
And some women still have small periods throughout which if your not regular anyway will seem like normal... 🤷‍♀️

I don't enjoy pregnancy so I always knew very early. But I can see that if you weren't actively trying and didn't suffer with morning sickness, PGP etc you might not notice, particularly with anterior placenta.

DH's cousin got a call at work to say his girlfriend had just had a 7lb baby. She'd been going to and fro the doctors for months with unexplained symptoms including no periods and despite multiple scans and pregnancy tests none of the medical professionals had spotted the baby who was born at presumably full term. Frankly if all those professionals didn't know she was pregnant then we can definitely forgive her for not realising!!