A Kiwi woman has opened up about the moment she found out she was already 36 weeks pregnant, having experienced no signs to suggest she was expecting. Photo / 123rf
A Kiwi woman has opened up about the moment she found out she was already 36 weeks pregnant, having experienced no signs to suggest she was expecting. Photo / 123rf
There was no bump, no kicking, no morning sickness and no pain.
A Kiwi woman has opened up about the moment she found out she was 36 weeks pregnant, having experienced no signs to suggest she was expecting.
The mother-to-be took to Facebook to explain her situation after she suddenly woke up one morning with a little bump in her tummy.
"My periods were all still normal, I felt this massive movement one night in my tummy and knew straight away.
"The next day I woke up with a little bump. I took a test and hello!
"Oh wow that's absolutely amazing! No tummy or anything?" one person wrote.
Another said: "I had a friend who was the same. She hadn't had a baby and was still getting periods. She literally looked like she just had a bit of a food baby at 36 weeks. it was crazy!"
According to researcher Jens Wessel, it is more common than we realise for women to not know they are 20 weeks or more pregnant.
Wessel says an estimated one in every 475 births 20 weeks or more along is the result of a denied pregnancy (pregnancies in which the women consciously or subconsciously deny or don't know they're pregnant).
Dr Mary Jane Minkin, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine, previously explained bumps are often less noticeable in a person whose uterus sits deep inside their pelvis.
She also said the position of the placenta could also make a difference.
"When the placenta sits in the front part of the uterus — what we call an anterior placenta — it does blunt some of the [fetal] activity."
Following the Kiwi mother's shock news she reached out to other New Zealand parents for advice, worried her pregnancy could ruin her other daughter's very first birthday.
"I just found out I'm almost 36 weeks pregnant with my second girl ... the specialists are wanting me to consider a C-section. My thing is my daughter will only just be 1 (my due date is 5 days after her first birthday) so I'm worried about not being able to pick her up and do things with her. has anyone bee in a similar situation and would be able to give me some tips?"
The expectant mother fears the birth could ruin her other daughter's first birthday. Photo / Facebook
Many mothers put the woman at ease, with some giving her ideas on how to safely interact with her 1-year-old while others offered assurances that C-sections aren't scary.
"I've had three C-sections. I was able to lie on the ground with my older boys. They were able to sit on the couch with me. Yes, getting in and out of the car is tricky ... C-sections aren't horrible or traumatic in my experience. Do what feel is right," one mother wrote.
Others said: "Use family and friends for assistance ... There may even be some mamas in your area who could potentially lend a hand."
It's not the first time a parent has found out they're expecting so late in pregnancy.
In July a woman only learned she was pregnant when she gave birth to twins in her bathroom after getting up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.
Stoke-On-Trent mother Beth Bamford claimed she had no idea she was pregnant because she was still having her periods, and had attributed her weight gain to simply 'fat'.
With family members asleep during the ordeal, Bamford called an ambulance and emergency services to take her through pushing out the afterbirth, but before they arrived Willow's twin Freya arrived, weighing 5lb 1oz.
