by Martha Guglielmetti

Created on: May 28, 2009   Last Updated: May 31, 2009

Labor Room Nurse here..and YES! I have experienced the poor girl who shows up to our hospital with the complaints of pain "in my belly".

Many people have a very difficult time with this fact that many girls are pregnant and remain unaware until the baby is born.

Now I used to have difficulty understanding how this could be, but the fact remains there are many people who are not attuned with their own bodies. This goes for many males and females. So many humans do not know about human anatomy & physiology. Knowledge about the many different wonderful systems in the human body probably should be instructed in early education classes.

Many girls who are over weight can go 40 weeks with an undetected pregnancy, especially if she is still having her periods regularly...or who doesn't have regular periods if this has been her normal..So many girls do not have "Regular" menstruation cycles, so if the pregnancy occurs and menstruation is interrupted this may not be the "signal" to her.

If she is over weight , the growing baby inside her will not show up on her frame.

if she usually wears loose fitting large tops her mother will not notice.

In general , many obese clients who become pregnant do not gain much weight during the pregnancy. Some actually lose weight.

One patient of mine entered our labor room with her mother & both were in a state of shock. As the day progressed I felt comfortable discussing many things with them. One thing stood out to me in such a way that made perfect sense. The mother had to awake each morning at 5 am to get to work. Her daughter got ready for school later during the morning. The mother did not see this girl sometimes for many days in a row. The mother had 2 jobs. She did not return home until 11:00 at night. Her daughter was usually in bed by then, and this is how they lived. They would communicate by phone during the day but not see each other for long periods of time. She had a baby girl, healthy but a little small at 5 lbs. Very easily hidden on her 250 lb frame.

Some girls I do believe deny the fact so afraid to tell "Mom" or "Dad" the news, so they will psychologically deny the pregnancy for as long as it takes.

Most however truly never knew, did not experience morning sickness, had irregular spotting during the pregnancy which mimicked their previous cycles. So many things can explain this occurrence. it is a shame but it truly happens more often than you would think.

When this occurs I do a cram course on child care, breast feeding vs. bottle feeding, and hope they can hear as I teach. Oh yes, and Pray for that little bundle to remain safe and healthy and most importantly loved.

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