Before home pregnancy testing was available you still must have known you were pregnant?

[Skydiving]

I have a colleague, almost 60, who claims that when she had her dc, 30-40 years ago, pregnancy tests for home use weren’t really available, and no one knew they were pregnant until about 12 weeks.
Supposedly, the gp wouldn’t see you to ‘confirm it’ until you had missed two periods. So according to her, you just continued as normal (drinking, smoking etc etc) until you had missed at least two periods, and could get a gp appointment, making you about 10-12 weeks.

Now I know times were different, but, I think even if this business about the gp not seeing you was true, you would still know that you were pregnant. You would have to have a serious lack of awareness of your own body not to notice the tiredness, sickness and every other bloody symptom. And even if you are the one in a million that gets no symptoms, the missed period would give it away surely?

I don’t know if it’s just a different time now, and people get over excited about very early pregnancy, and very upset when they miscarry (I’ve had one myself), whereas in the past they didn’t take things as a given so much.
Or is it because if you don’t know you are pregnant by test confirmation, maybe the symptoms seem less because you aren’t fixating on them.
Or is my colleague just talking bollocks?

My mum is 85 and had several late miscarriages when she was in her 20’s. She says that she thinks she lost a lot more babies in the first few weeks of pregnancy but as she hadn’t had a pregnancy confirmed she will never be sure

I can only talk for myself, but without tests I don’t think I’d have known!

I have and have always had very irregular periods - cycles varying between 42 and 100+ days. I had very few symptoms in the first trimester, main one was being tired but could’ve put that down to work stress (or a million other reasons). Obviously if you’re unlucky and get horrendous morning sickness for example you might be more suspicious. I think you’re right about people being more aware of symptoms now as they know earlier, as plenty of times I wasn’t pregnant but was TTC I’d convince myself I was because of all the ‘symptoms’ I had!

Well my Mum is 71 and I'm 50..and she sat her University finals while waiting a week for the results of her pregnancy test at the doctors (talk about stress!) after she had missed one period, so it definitely wasn't 3 months... by then she'd be shoved down the isle with my Dad at the speed of light!

However she did still smoke...and drink.

When I had my kids, home kits were still a bit more like chemisty sets and I had to wait a week after I was due my period to test. In many ways I think it was better... many of us lose very very early pregnancies (I lost several) but there wasn't quite the same upset because it was seen as very very late period.

I find it very believable; a lot of women were taught nothing about their own bodies, cycles, symptoms, etc., so it was all word-of-mouth trying to figure out what to expect and when to be sure. My mom & probably gran had shotgun weddings first time, so they knew but didn't mean to be in that situation and would have been fuzzy on dates. My grandmother maintained that my dad was born 2 months early until her death (I think this was a fiction, she didn't want to admit to being barely 17 & in a shotgun wedding). Not everyone has very regular periods. My mother had a few m/cs and never got in slightest bit upset about them.

I definitely wouldn't have know I was pregnant with my first without a test, in fact I just kept testing because I barely believed I was as had no sickness or symptoms at all. Was very relieved at the scan as I had been starting to believe it was an elaborate hoax.

I was fairly sure both times but not certain until I had missed a couple of periods.

She is right I am 74 and they used to use a pee sample to inject a Xenopus Toad... not sure how it worked though. I had a false negative with ds in 1969. The GP gave me a pill to bring on my period. It didn’t. My negative is 48 now.

My mum had to miss two periods before she got a test at the doctors, this was 1980. She did think she was pregnant with me though as she was so sick.

I was 10 weeks. No symptoms (did have a negative test at 5 weeks)

An awful lot of first babies used to come early, seven months after the wedding... So I think those women had an inkling! Morning sickness has also been known about for centuries, and that tends to be a first trimester thing for most women. I think women probably knew later - six or seven weeks rather than four - but I think your colleague is talking bollocks that no one knew until they were twelve weeks gone.

I didn’t have any symptoms, no weight gain, no sore breast, no nausea etc with my 4th Dc and I had a bleed monthly until 5 months when the dr did a test as I had a Uti so yes it is possible to have no idea, with the previous 3 I had hyperemesis and was hospitalised so completely different

You had to wait till you’d missed two periods before they would test.

When I was pregnant, I just knew even before I took a test. I knew I was pregnant and I knew it was a boy.

I was... but she was a girl

Kind of. With second pregnancy (and therefore a bit more aware of symptoms), I knew I was pregnant when I couldn't bear the smell or idea of a cup of coffee.

I have irregular periods, similar to Pickett, and many of the other symptoms could be caused by my other health issues... I wouldn't know for sure if i was pregnant or not without tests.

My MIL was telling me that on the 80s your dr wouldn't confirm you were pregnant until at least 12 weeks so maybe this is what your colleague meant? Rather than not knowing

Not everyone has nausea, tiredness or other symptoms. I didn't know I was pregnant for 10 weeks, I wasn't actively trying to get pregnant, my periods were never regular and I was 42 so sort of assumed it was the start of the menopause - until I thought about possibly testing for pregnancy. Some women are very aware of their own bodies, know when they are ovulating - I wouldn't have a clue, what exactly are the symptoms of ovulating?

When I was pregnant I don’t think I would have known without testing at the point I found out. I certainly would have later on though. I didn’t have regular periods.

My mum always said the doctor wouldn’t test until you had missed 3 periods years ago.

I wouldn't have known I always had very irregular periods. Ditto my mother and aunt. My mother lost one at 5 months, no inkling at all that she was pregnant.

Nearly 30 years ago the only option was to take a sample to the chemist for testing - I think you had to be 7 days late for it to be accurate
I remember going to a chemist in my lunch break from work and then having to go back into work but not able to tell anyone as wanted DH to know first and this was pre mobile phones too so had to wait till 7 pm when he got in from work

Perhaps she means you didn't actually know for sure until you had been to the doctor and had the dreaded internal examination.

MIL allegedly had her appendix out when she was almost 4 months pregnant with BIL. Apparently they asked her in hospital was there any possibility of pregnancy and she told them she didn't know.
I say 'allegedly' because she does talk a lot of bs

Well...they're readily available now, and yet there are still women turning up in A&E with abdo pain, apparently unware that they're pregnant when they're already in labour.

Think it cost around a fiver
With second DC I was still on maternity leave (yes they are close in age) so went to local chemist then went round to a friends and told her (DH and I sort of knew it was just getting it confirmed really) I then rang DH at work from her house

I had my first in 1999, I didn't do a test until I realised I hadn't had a period in a while. It was positive and I was 12 weeks along after a quick confirmation scan on an old ultrasound kidney scanner at the GPs. No symptoms and I was quite shocked that that was how it felt to be pregnant. My mum had to have missed two periods before the Drs would test a urine sample.