A pregnancy without symptoms (or almost) does exist: some women go several months without knowing that they are expecting a baby. A gynecologist sheds light on the phenomenon of cryptic pregnancy, sometimes called stealth pregnancy.
"I found out 15 minutes before she was born that I was going to have her. It was a bit of a shock." These are the words of Kayla Simpson, a 20-year-old American, in an interview with the media outlet Brut . The young woman explains that she had no symptoms, that her body didn't change (on the contrary, she lost weight) and that she had her period for 9 months. And yet, one night, she woke up with stomach pains making her think that her appendix had burst, which prompted her to go to the emergency room... and to discover that she was pregnant just before giving birth.
What Kayla Simpson describes is called cryptic pregnancy (or stealth pregnancy). We asked Dr. Joëlle Bensimhon, a Paris-based gynecologist and author of Pregnancy for Dummies (First), to explain this surprising phenomenon.
What is a cryptic pregnancy?
"A cryptic pregnancy is simply a woman who does not know she is pregnant, even though her pregnancy is already at an advanced stage," explains Dr. Bensimhon. "We talk about partial cryptic pregnancy when it is discovered during the second trimester , and total cryptic pregnancy when it is discovered at the time of delivery . The latter case is obviously rarer," reassures the gynecologist.
The figures on the subject are not numerous, but an American study claims that they concern 1 in 475 pregnancies, and 1 in 2,455 for total cryptic pregnancies. A rare phenomenon, therefore, but not non-existent.
"Because they are not monitored and the mother-to-be does not pay attention to what she eats, what she drinks or her level of physical activity, these pregnancies are accompanied by high risks of premature delivery and even obstetric risks," says the gynecologist. "Some babies are doing very well, but there can be significant complications. And psychologically, it is very complicated, which is why there is psychological monitoring that is organized for the young mother ."
How can you achieve a stealth pregnancy?
There are several reasons why a woman may not be aware of her pregnancy: "Some women have such irregular cycles that they don't care if their period is late," begins Dr. Bensimhon. "We can also mention women who have bleeding while pregnant and mistake it for their period, obese people who don't see it physically, or women who have recently had a pregnancy, especially those who are breastfeeding, who have not had their period and are pregnant again."
The expert also points the finger at very young women, who do not yet know their bodies well and misinterpret the signs, those in the perimenopause period with irregular periods or those using certain contraceptives, IUD or pill, which suppress periods, which means they can miss a pregnancy. And then, of course, there are those who do not want to think that they are pregnant and find explanations for all the symptoms.
Negative pregnancy test, no belly… Does that make sense?
In some cases, the surprise is total because the woman took a pregnancy test and it turned out negative. "That's often because she took a urine test. But this is less reliable than a blood test which is rarely wrong," says Dr. Bensimhon. And the timing of the pregnancy test can also explain the error: if it is done too early, the pregnancy hormone, beta-hCG , is at too low a level to be detected. "Its level rises up to the 8th week of pregnancy, then drops again, which means that after the 10th week , you can have a negative urine test while still pregnant ." As for the negative blood test, this is less common, but it can happen, particularly because of certain medications.
But how can we explain that the baby is not visible, neither on the ultrasound nor physically? "We can miss it, especially with a vaginal ultrasound that does not always go far enough, but also in the case of an ectopic pregnancy," explains the gynecologist. "And above all, since we are not "looking" for the baby since we do not suspect the pregnancy, we may not see it." The absence of a belly can be explained by a baby positioned along the spine instead of developing forward, which means that the belly does not grow while the baby does.
What is the difference between cryptic pregnancy and pregnancy denial?
If the characteristics of a cryptic pregnancy make you think of a denial of pregnancy , it is normal, since the denial of pregnancy is a case of cryptic pregnancy . In this case, the woman is not aware of being pregnant because she absolutely does not want to be, or because she suffers from mental disorders.
However, not all cryptic pregnancies are pregnancy denials: in Kayla Simpson's case, the young woman didn't think about it for a single second during the 9 months. The gynecologist also cites the example of women who learned they were pregnant after having an MRI for back pain.
