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…
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.
