Pregnant and not know it...what are your thoughts?

i didn't know i was pregnant until 5 months gone. I had been pregnant before but still had no clue until i'd stop breast feeding my other child and milk was still there after a week or two

This is probably the most likely scenario when it's legit. I have a friend who didn't know until 17 weeks because she was nursing her other baby.

I think when it happens to teenagers, it's more a case of them not knowing what happens to your body when you become pregnant. Their cycles may not be regular at that age, so missing a period is no big deal. They start having back pains and assume it's something else. The thought of pregnancy may cross their mind, but it's probably a really scary thing to someone that young, and they're afraid to tell anyone, so they never go to the doctor. Then when they have the baby, they say they didn't know they were pregnant, which may technically be true.

i didn't know i was pregnant until 5 months gone. I had been pregnant before but still had no clue until i'd stop breast feeding my other child and milk was still there after a week or two

I read an article that a lady was having stomach pains only to find out that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a 9 lbs baby boy in her driveway. She says that she hadn't gained that much weight. Do we really live in a society where obesity is so common that people can be preggo and not even realize it? :sad:

I've seen crap on a documentary about women who were pregnant and didn't know it, some of them were thin - I just think it is more of an intelligence issue or maybe being in denial and not right in the head? I don't see how you could just not know.

Woah. Hold up there.

Things that really boil my bologna are the shaming comments that come with issues around pregnancy.

Pregnancy follows the same basic principles... but varies drastically from woman to woman. Even following that same basic "timeline" varies, hence why we have different conditions, states of pregnancy, etc.

The "I didn't know I was pregnant" bits are not always linked to obesity. Nor is it an intelligence thing. Or an insanity thing ("not right in the head, seriously?"). I've known it to happen to someone who gained weight only in their breasts (they were young, spotting, and only found out around five months along when they went in for their chronic kidney issue "bothering them"; no, the backpain was linked to the baby).

There are women who give birth at a lower weight than they were when they conceived. There are women who spot in exactly the same pattern as their period the entire gestation. There are women who never feel their child move, even though he/she ends up being born completely healthy. And this is all for women who KNEW they were pregnant; imagine if any of this happened and you didn't know.

It's both frightening and comforting to know just how vastly different pregnancy experiences can be for women.

But holy hell, what a strange brush of shade that's already being painted here. Good on you if you know your body so well that you can predict exactly how it reacts to all things at all times!

I read an article that a lady was having stomach pains only to find out that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a 9 lbs baby boy in her driveway. She says that she hadn't gained that much weight. Do we really live in a society where obesity is so common that people can be preggo and not even realize it? :sad:

I've seen crap on a documentary about women who were pregnant and didn't know it, some of them were thin - I just think it is more of an intelligence issue or maybe being in denial and not right in the head? I don't see how you could just not know.

Woah. Hold up there.

Things that really boil my bologna are the shaming comments that come with issues around pregnancy.

Pregnancy follows the same basic principles... but varies drastically from woman to woman. Even following that same basic "timeline" varies, hence why we have different conditions, states of pregnancy, etc.

The "I didn't know I was pregnant" bits are not always linked to obesity. Nor is it an intelligence thing. Or an insanity thing ("not right in the head, seriously?"). I've known it to happen to someone who gained weight only in their breasts (they were young, spotting, and only found out around five months along when they went in for their chronic kidney issue "bothering them"; no, the backpain was linked to the baby).

There are women who give birth at a lower weight than they were when they conceived. There are women who spot in exactly the same pattern as their period the entire gestation. There are women who never feel their child move, even though he/she ends up being born completely healthy. And this is all for women who KNEW they were pregnant; imagine if any of this happened and you didn't know.

It's both frightening and comforting to know just how vastly different pregnancy experiences can be for women.

But holy hell, what a strange brush of shade that's already being painted here. Good on you if you know your body so well that you can predict exactly how it reacts to all things at all times!

No, you are right - not everyone is the same. I just can't put myself in those shoes because you would think you would either feel the baby moving or know something was inside of you growing. My mother didn't know she was pregnant with me for 6 months, but she told me it was more of an in denial issue. I can see not knowing for a few months, but I was mainly speaking until you go in labor.

To be fair, I think your thoughts are then rooted in an anecdote you've been exposed to: your mother's.

As others have said, pregnancies are different. You put a qualifier of "a few months," but some women literally experience the same symptoms at three months as they do at nine (for better or for worse). Every pregnancy is different and even every labor experience is different. If you're willing to give the benefit of the doubt to some women not knowing until 4 or 5 months, it's not to much to extend it further for those cases where women really don't know until they're in the hospital for "appendicitis" or however their symptoms manifest.

Also, someone referenced the "if you've been told you can't get pregnant." A local, older couple just had this exact scenario on ours news: she was told she was no longer menstruating because of a fertility issue. Two years later, no weight gain, and a "bad stomachache" lead to a baby boy for them.

I didn't know I was pregnant. I was bleeding non-stop for 6 months so I never thought to take a pregnancy test. My stomach grew, I looked pregnant but when you trust a doctor that's a complete idiot, it's hard. I was young and unfortunately my stomach was growing b/c I had cancer and I was pregnant. I didn't feel movement b/c I had a tumor that was growing in front of the baby so he was kicking that instead of me. So yeah, it's possible. I wasn't obese, overweight by 25ish pounds. Went to a nutritionist and went to a personal trainer. dropped body fat but I was gaining weight but doing everything "right", well except taking care of my baby. So statements like this kindof hit a nerve with me, but I realize I'm in a very small minority. My little guy passed away shortly after birth.

I didn't know I was pregnant. I was bleeding non-stop for 6 months so I never thought to take a pregnancy test. My stomach grew, I looked pregnant but when you trust a doctor that's a complete idiot, it's hard. I was young and unfortunately my stomach was growing b/c I had cancer and I was pregnant. I didn't feel movement b/c I had a tumor that was growing in front of the baby so he was kicking that instead of me. So yeah, it's possible. I wasn't obese, overweight by 25ish pounds. Went to a nutritionist and went to a personal trainer. dropped body fat but I was gaining weight but doing everything "right", well except taking care of my baby. So statements like this kindof hit a nerve with me, but I realize I'm in a very small minority. My little guy passed away shortly after birth.