# Unknown Pregnancy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2000, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-pregnancy/33109 "2000-09-14T01:57:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-pregnancy/33109/21 "2000-09-15T02:11:54Z")
A teacher of mine in college was very petite and skinny and wore these fairy tight-fitting power suits all the time. She was a very driven, work-minded sort of person–to a fault. We found out after she had taken just one week off that she had given birth. None of us had _any_ idea: she never mentioned being pregnant, she never seemed to get ANY bigger–she never had on bigger clothes, at least that we noticed. We were all _astonished_. She came back and kept working as though nothing had happened. And yes, there are many women who have highly irregular periods and can miss months at a time. I also know two women who say they didn’t even feel any pain in labor, though I find that next to impossible to beleieve… ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Fortune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Commander\_Fortune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Fortune)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-pregnancy/33109/22 "2000-09-15T07:12:50Z")
> [@](#): > > I see several women commenting about how it’s possible to ignore the cessation of periods and the weight gain, but how about the baby’s movements (the well-known “kicking”)? Doesn’t every baby do that? Until the last few weeks of my pregnancy, kicking felt like stomach “butterflys”. At the end, like a knee was in my lung. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Fortune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Commander\_Fortune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Fortune)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-pregnancy/33109/23 "2000-09-15T07:16:43Z")
> [@](#): > > I also know two women who say they didn’t even feel any pain in labor, though I find that next to impossible to beleieve… Labor was tedious, but I didn’t find it painful…pushing on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b38774/32.png) [@Girl\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2000, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-pregnancy/33109/24 "2000-09-16T09:01:21Z")
I think even removing the “uneducated”, “denial”, and “immaturity” factors from this it is still possible for a woman to carry a child and not know she is pregnant. I am overweight and tend to gain and lose 10 or 15 pounds in a months time on a continual basis. I have a severe case of irritable bowel syndrome which causes bloating and gassy feelings like cramps and “waves” of movement in my abdominal area. Although I only actually get a period every 6 months or so I do get cramping, tender breasts, and nausea for about a week every month when my period would normally come if I were regular. My husband and I have had fertility problems for many years and we do not use protection. (Is this too much personal info??) 🙂 I used to buy a home pregnancy test kit about every other month because I FELT pregnant. (The girl at the store must have thought I was insane as I actually started buying them in bulk to save time and money) I don’t bother buying them anymore. If I were to get pregnant I’m not sure I’d know for quite some time into it. My sister has 3 children. The first two she KNEW she was prenant. The third she had no idea until her doctor told her during a routine exam when she was almost 4 months along. Even a few weeks before she delivered the baby rarely moved and even then it was more of a “flutter” then a kick according to her. All in all I think I could happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-pregnancy/33109.md?page=1)