A WOMAN who spent eight months of her life totally oblivious to her pregnancy has insists she really had no idea about it, despite her tummy issues.
A cryptic pregnancy occurs when a woman doesn’t know she is pregnant and often doesn’t show any signs despite having taking tests.
Nicole Patrick, 39, was stunned to learn that she was more than eight months pregnant after a hospital visit in April 2024.
Told in a gripping Storytime, Nicole describes how she was in denial at first and how she eventually came to terms with the big news.
She explained: “I was just completely stunned and in shock.”
Originally from New Jersey, USA, Nicole had an unusual pregnancy journey as she spent it unbeknownst to the fact that she was expecting at all.
A makeup artist by trade, Nicole was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) which is a condition that affects a woman’s ovaries and makes it harder to fall pregnant.
Stunned into silence, Nicole began to cry at how overwhelming the whole experience was.
Looking back on the previous eight months, she admits in hindsight that there were signs that she was pregnant but didn’t know until she looked up the symptoms.
Believing that she was not meant to know about her little girl, she now thinks that it is the best thing to happen to her.
Sadly for Nicole and her family, her dad passed away five months prior to the big news but believe it helped them have something to celebrate at a sad time.
Nicole found out that she was pregnant on April 11th, 2024, and gave birth to her daughter, Sophia, shortly after.
She said: “Having never been pregnant, it just never occurred to me.
“It wasn’t until I had an ultrasound at the ER that I was just completely stunned and in shock, I began to cry since it was very overwhelming.
“My mind was going a million miles a minute thinking of literally every possible thing from needing to get health insurance, prenatal care, that my life was never going to be the same.
“On top of other health related things going on with me, there wasn’t even a thought that being pregnant was a possibility.
“I truly believe I was not supposed to know about this little girl until I did.”
BEING pregnant without even knowing it might sound near impossible, but there are many reason a pregnancy could go unnoticed right up until labour.
Often called a stealth pregnancy, cryptic pregnancies sometimes lack the symptoms you may expect, and symptoms like fatigue and nausea are usually mild enough to pass off as a stomach bug.
According to the experts at Flo, there are a few causes of a cryptic pregnancy.
“The primary cause of a stealth pregnancy is hormones. Let’s look at some of the physiological reasons why a person might have a cryptic pregnancy,” they explained.
“If someone was recently pregnant or recently gave birth, it may take time before their hormones return to their regular cycles. During this time — or as long as a person is breastfeeding — they may start ovulating without knowing it, which can result in a cryptic pregnancy. Similarly, perimenopause can lead to irregular hormone cycles and cause a cryptic pregnancy.”
You can still get pregnancy if you’re on birth control, but if you continue to take birth control the usual symptoms of pregnancy may go unnoticed or vary slightly.
“Stress also influences hormones, so high stress can disrupt common pregnancy symptoms. Low body fat can also trigger hormonal imbalances, which might cause a symptomless pregnancy. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which causes irregular or elongated hormone cycles, can also cause a cryptic pregnancy.
“A secondary, less common cause of cryptic pregnancy is certain psychological conditions. Called a “denial of pregnancy,” it occurs when someone mentally believes they aren’t pregnant, despite tests showing that they are.”
