There are many signs of pregnancy. The ones most popularized by Nollywood are nausea and missed periods. However, women experience pregnancy differently. Some said they felt like they had malaria. Others said they felt like they had food poisoning. Many said it was like constantly feeling full after a huge meal.
The labor and birthing experience is different from woman to woman too. For some women, labor is easy and lasts only a few hours, for others, it is long and painful for up to 48 hours. While some women have vaginal births, others have planned or emergency C sections.
So when we hear about women who had no idea they were pregnant, and then within 30 mins to 1 hour of entering labor unexpectedly, they still push out a full term, healthy baby, we tend to not believe it is even possible, but it is!
One young lady, Ada, said she came home from work with a headache and stomach pains. She was not a fan of taking painkillers or medication in general, so she tried to relax with the hopes of getting better. But she didn't feel better by the next morning. Because she had to go to work, she got up and went to shower. But 5 minutes into her shower, her stomach started to ache even more. She looked down, and saw a huge stream of water pour out of her.
She called to her fiancé to come and help her, and next thing he knew, he was delivering his son in their bathroom! Ada said she didn't see a single sign of pregnancy and she was seeing her period the whole time. She confirmed she had gained a little weight, but it was nothing for her to worry about. Her son is 2 years old now and she goes for regular checkups so that she's not caught unawares again.
Ronke said she woke up that day, feeling normal, not knowing what she was going to experience. A few hours after getting to work, she started feeling some minor cramping, but brushed it off as nothing. The cramping gradually became a more painful throughout the day. But she still didn't suspect anything. a few hours later, she felt moisture, so she went to the toilet to check and saw that she was bleeding, so she thought her period had came early.
But towards the end of the work day, she couldn't take the cramping anymore because they were longer and more painful than before. At some point, she started to scream and her colleagues rushed her to the hospital. She gave birth in her colleague’s car in Lagos traffic, some minutes later. Both mother and child were pronounced fine when they were checked by the doctor.
When Susu turned 50, she was told she had officially entered menopause. She was already a mother and grandmother, so the news didn't worry her. This was why it came as a huge shock to her when she suddenly found herself giving birth to a baby.
She said she had none of the usual signs of pregnancy and only felt some aches and pains leading up to the birth of her son, which she didn't pay attention to, or have any reason to suspect pregnancy because she was menopausal. She said it was weird to ask her first daughter to borrow the baby things she gifted her when she had her baby, but still, she and her husband were so happy to welcome their son whom they named Miracle.
Becky was 24 years old, and having back pains. The back pains had gotten worse, so she asked her boyfriend to follow her to the hospital because painkillers were not helping much any more. The doctor took one look at her and told her that they were going to admit her immediately because she was in labor.
She fainted at the news, and when she came to, the nurse told her to pull herself together for her baby and push. She soon gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She said she had no idea she was pregnant even though she had gone from a size 8 to a size 10.
Another woman, Ade, said she was able to wear her size 10 dresses throughout her pregnancy, and she kept seeing her period which was sometimes irregular anyway. She had no real baby bump, and she was even on birth control pills at the time.
It wasn't until she was writhing in pain over what she thought were period cramps that her mother asked if she could be pregnant. She said if she wasn't in so much pain, she would have laughed because how could she be pregnant? The pain continued and her water broke. She ended up giving birth to her baby boy on the kitchen floor. When she was later taken to the hospital and checked, she and her son were fine.
Now, even though all the women said they gained weight, they all said they had no other reason to suspect they were pregnant. Most confirmed their bellies didn't grow in any notable size to suspect pregnancy, and they saw their periods regularly. Most confirmed they didn't experience morning sickness or even feel the baby kick.
This is called Cryptic Pregnancy, and it is rare. Studies estimate that 1 in 400 or 500 women are up to 5 months into pregnancy before realizing it, and 1 in 2,500 women go all the way to delivery before realizing they're having a baby. A cryptic pregnancy is when you don’t know you’re pregnant. It can happen to women who have irregular periods, don’t know the common signs of pregnancy or get a negative result on a pregnancy test.
Anyone can have a cryptic pregnancy. However, you may be at higher risk if you:
Recently gave birth.
Have a condition like PCOS.
Use birth control.
Are in perimenopause.
Have never been pregnant before, causing you to not know the symptoms of pregnancy.
The best way to prevent a cryptic/stealth pregnancy is to be aware of your body and sexual health. If you believe there’s any chance you could be pregnant, it’s always best to take a home pregnancy test or visit a healthcare provider for a blood or urine test. For more information, consult your doctor.
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