by Beverly Johnson

Created on: April 10, 2009

Every Sunday morning, I watch an amazing show on Discovery Health called, "I didn't know I was pregnant!" You can guess what the show is about. OK! Just in case you haven't seen it, I'll give you the low down. This show is about women who are pregnant for nine whole months without knowing it and then gave birth to a live baby. And, of course, all the episodes end happily with both healthy mom and baby.

During every episode, I end up in tears with worry over the fate of the mother and child. I'm always so sure the story will end in tragedy. But, it never does. And, you might ask yourself why someone would watch a show that made them cry. And, I guess the simple reason is that having a baby out of nowhere is a miracle. Sure it took nine months for that miracle to develop. But it happened. And, maybe it happened that way so that the baby could sneak into the world uninterrupted and in it's own way. Maybe sneaky pregnancies are Mother Nature's way of keeping the human race alive without our permission.

Of course, I believe that it's possible to be pregnant without knowing it. This has happened to far too many women to be a fluke or coincidence. Obviously, this is not the ideal way to start a family. During any delivery there is the risk of infection or death for both mother and child. And, most times, these risks can be managed easily in a hospital setting. But not when the mother is delivering the child alone in an abandoned location.

In one episode, a woman delivered her surprise baby in the filthy bathroom of a campground. She didn't even know why she was in so much pain until the baby dropped out and slammed into the cement floor. Luckily, there was an RN nearby who was able to resusitate the baby back to life. The story ended well. But things don't always work out that way.

In reality, women who are pregnant without knowing it, often give birth to low birth weight babies who may face complications during life such as learning disabilities due to lack of maternal care during pregnancy. Prenatal care is paramount since it helps the doctors identity potential maternal health conditions such as high blood pressure; preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. All these conditions can cause problems with the unborn child and lead to lifelong health issues or even infant death.

If a woman is sexually active and worries about the possibility of an unplanned (or uexpected) pregnancy, she should test herself regularly for pregnancy. This will give her and the baby a fighting chance for survival.

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