Most women have symptoms of pregnancy in the first weeks of gestation, so it is surprising to hear news like this, in which the woman does not find out that she is pregnant for months, and even in the most extreme cases, until the time to give birth. However, although it is very rare, these cases do exist: it is known as a cryptic pregnancy.
This is what happened to 38-year-old Pia Rapusas, a woman whose idea of being pregnant did not cross her mind when she felt severe abdominal pain. Going to the emergency room, she found out she was 38 weeks pregnant and gave birth to her baby the same day .
Her husband Jonathan shared a post on Facebook in which he explains what happened and how they found out they would be parents, when they already gave up on him.
Since they got married in 2012 they have dreamed of being parents, but Pia suffers from polycystic ovaries, a hormonal imbalance that causes irregular cycles and in some cases, difficulty getting pregnant. With the passing of the years, they saw how their desires were diluted.
Until last May 6, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, she began to suffer severe abdominal pain, and they attributed it to an extreme case of dysmenorrhea. That night they had an online consultation with the doctor, who prescribed a medicine. But the next day, seeing that she was not improving, they considered that it could be due to a possible pregnancy and decided to take two tests that they had at home, which were positive.
The surprise was enormous when seeing the positives, but more surprising was that, when she went to the emergency room because the pain did not stop, the doctors discovered that she was in labor.
The baby, whom they named Isaiah David, was born a few hours later with a full-term growth of 38 weeks and 3.2 kilos of weight .
What is a cryptic pregnancy
What she experienced was what is known as a cryptic pregnancy, when the woman does not find out that she is pregnant until the moment of delivery .
It is associated with women who have irregular periods, (caused for example, by Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), early menopause, or women who practice high-impact sports.
It can also happen when the contraceptive method fails or during breastfeeding, when there is no menstruation. In these cases, it is common for the period to disappear for months, and the woman may be pregnant without knowing it.
Pía suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, which causes irregular menstruation cycles. “So when asked when her last period was (in February), she was actually experiencing spotting” (miscarriages), says Jonathan. “
There was also no weight gain in his wife, so nothing made them suspect that their baby had been growing inside his mother’s womb for months.
It seems incredible that she has not noticed any symptoms or changes typical of pregnancy, nor the movements of the baby inside her womb, not even that the pains she felt were actually labor contractions … But as we see, it can happen and they are really cases surprising.
Via | Smart Parenting
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