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Line 1: {{Short description\|Pregnancy not noticed until labor}} {{reliable sources\|date=July 2021}} The term '''cryptic pregnancy''' is used by medical professionals to describe a [[pregnancy]] that is not recognized by the woman who is pregnant until she is in labor or has [[childbirth\|given birth]].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-Cryptic-Pregnancy.aspx\|title=What is a Cryptic Pregnancy?\|date=2019-09-10\|website=News-Medical.net\|language=en\|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref> The term is also used online for a special form of [[false pregnancy]] (pseudocyesis), or delusion of pregnancy, in which a woman who has no medical verification of pregnancy believes that she is pregnant. == Medically cryptic pregnancies == The television series ''[[I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant]]''<ref>{{Citation\|title=Unknowingly Pregnant Woman Attends Military Training {{!}} I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant\|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei93Pf3kbRk\|language=en\|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref> shared the stories of women who had experienced medically cryptic pregnancies. They did not realize they were pregnant until they were in labor or had given birth. Nearly all the featured stories involved women who ~~continued~~had tointermittent ~~have~~bleeding ~~their~~throughout ~~period~~pregnancy asthat ~~usual~~they ~~throughout~~misinterpreted ~~their~~as ~~pregnancy~~[[menstruation]], while some cited not having regular periods due to [[polycystic ovary syndrome\|polycystic ovarian syndrome]] (PCOS), or other conditions that are associated with [[infertility]]. The women involved often did not gain weight or experience other major symptoms of pregnancy, such as [[morning sickness]] or breast sensitivity. Those who did experience some symptoms of pregnancy either claimed to attribute the symptoms to an existing condition, claimed to have taken a home [[pregnancy test]] and gotten a negative result, or both. A few of the stories involved women who had known they were pregnant and experienced an early [[miscarriage]], only to realize they were still pregnant when the baby was being born. It is common that after the birth the new ~~parent~~mother looks back and realizes that there were some signs of pregnancy ~~they~~she had ignored. For women who have had a typical pregnancy, the assumption is that there is no way to not "feel" a pregnancy. However, [[Obstetrics\|obstetricians]] on the show explained that, depending on the position of the [[placenta]], the sensations of a baby moving can be minimal. In 2015, the show's spin off, ''I Still Didn't Know I Was Pregnant'', featured women who had experienced multiple medically cryptic pregnancies.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://people.com/tv/i-didnt-know-i-was-pregnant-tawanda-has-two-surprise-babies-in-tlc-special/\|title=Meet the Woman Who Didn't Know She Was Pregnant ~~–~~– Twice!\|website=PEOPLE.com\|language=en\|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref> == Causes == Line 11 ⟶ 12: == Epidemiology == According to a 2023 study, 1 in 475 pregnancies can classify as a cryptic pregnancy where pregnancy is not discovered until at least 20 weeks.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Duckitt \|first1=Kirsten \|title=Cryptic pregnancy \|journal=Case Reports in Women's Health \|date=June 2023 \|volume=38 \|pages=e00503 \|doi=10.1016/j.crwh.2023.e00503 \|pmid=37440764 \|issn=2214-9112\|pmc=10334309 }}</ref> 1 in 7,225 pregnancies are unknown at the time the mother gives birth.<ref>{{Cite journal\|last=Dordević\|first=Momcilo\|last2=Jovanović\|first2=Bozidar\|last3=Dordević\|first3=Gordana\|date=2010\|title=Unknown pregnancy--presentation of the case\|journal=Medicinski pregled\|volume=63\|issue=9-10\|pages=728–730\|doi=10.2298/mpns1010728d\|url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/ft.aspx?id=0025-81051010728D}}</ref>▼ ▲1One in 7,225 pregnancies are unknown at the time the mother gives birth.<ref>{{Cite journal\|~~last~~last1=Dordević\|~~first~~first1=Momcilo\|last2=Jovanović\|first2=Bozidar\|last3=Dordević\|first3=Gordana\|date=2010\|title=Unknown pregnancy--presentation of the case\|journal=Medicinski ~~pregled~~Pregled\|volume=63\|issue=~~9-10~~9–10\|pages=728–730\|doi=10.2298/mpns1010728d\|pmid=21446106 \|url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/ft.aspx?id=0025-81051010728D}}</ref> ~~== Cryptic pregnancy as a delusion of pregnancy ==~~ The Gilmour Foundation, an Internet-based foundation which styles itself as an expert on cryptic pregnancy, claims a cryptic pregnancy is one that is missed by pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. They claim these pregnancies occur because of an abnormally slow-growing fetus, and gestate for years or even decades. The foundation has said that this causes the [[human chorionic gonadotropin]] (hCG) [[hormone]] to be too low to be detected by medical tests and, because the pregnancy is smaller or located outside the uterus, it is missed on [[ultrasound]]s.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.crypticpregnancysupportgroup.com/what-is-a-cryptic-pregnancy-and-what-causes-it.html\|title=What is a Cryptic Pregnancy and What Causes it?\|website=Cryptic Pregnancy Support Group & The Gilmour Foundation\|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref> However, there is no medical literature to support the existence of cryptic pregnancy as described by the Gilmour Foundation. Rather, this type of "cryptic pregnancy" should be understood as a form of delusion.<ref>{{Cite journal\|last=Yadav\|first=Tarun\|last2=Balhara\|first2=Yatan Pal Singh\|last3=Kataria\|first3=Dinesh Kumar\|date=2012\|title=Pseudocyesis Versus Delusion of Pregnancy: Differential Diagnoses to be Kept in Mind\|journal=Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine\|volume=34\|issue=1\|pages=82–84\|doi=10.4103/0253-7176.96167\|issn=0253-7176\|pmc=3361851\|pmid=22661815}}</ref> ~~=== Causes ===~~ For the most part, this form of cryptic pregnancy is a psychological issue. Some people with this mental illness show [[symptoms of pregnancy]], such as [[amenorrhea]], weight gain, nausea, etc., which could be caused by the delusion or by its underlying cause. ~~=== In history ===~~ [[Mary I of England\|Queen Mary I]] of [[England]] is rumored to have experienced false pregnancy, which may be considered cryptic, because she continued to believe she was pregnant past the expected due month. However, because of the limitations of medical technology, and the delicacy of inspecting the body of the queen, doctors would have had great difficulty in verifying a pregnancy, including whether it was a [[neoplasm\|tumor]] or a [[molar pregnancy]]. During one of her false pregnancies, Mary believed herself to be pregnant for nearly a year after her period stopped, when suddenly her abdomen flattened without her going into labor.{{Citation needed\|date=November 2019}} == References == {{Reflist}} {{Delusion}} {{Pregnancy}} [[Category:Pathology of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium]]