Top 10 Reasons Why Women Don't Know They Are Pregnant

We've all heard stories about women who didn't know they were carrying a child until very late in the pregnancy...or even until labor kicks in. But how could this be? Besides the obvious reason (denial!), there are a number of factors that can contribute to the "surprise pregnancy" phenomenon:

10. Fetus is small, inactive, and/or carried toward the back of the womb.
Believe it or not, sometimes babies just don't make a lot of commotion in utero. In addition, some women's babies rest naturally toward the back of the womb, so that motion and kicking aren't easily detected from outside the mother's body. Many women believe that fetal movements are just irregular or strong digestive activity!

9. Recent previous childbirth.
Many women continue to believe that they cannot get pregnant right after giving birth, or while they are breastfeeding. Additionally, menstrual cycles can be irregular, and women can continue to bleed vaginally for several weeks after childbirth. The truth is, some women ovulate - and can become pregnant - within the very first days after giving birth!

8. Dieting.
Women who are very active and watch their weight religiously may crank up their fitness routine and/or begin dieting when they notice a weight gain. Because of this, they may not gain weight as their pregnancy progresses.

7. Stress.
Stressful jobs, family, and personal lives contribute to irregular periods, and may cause women not to pay attention to their menstrual cycle, or to chalk up missing periods to stress.

6. Fetus is mistaken for a tumor or cyst.
In some cases, particularly when a woman has a history of endometriosis, fibroid cysts, or other tumors of the reproductive system, a fetus can be mistaken for a new or recurring tumor.

5. Obesity.
Carrying a lot of excess weight can perfectly disguise the "baby bump." Depending on how a woman's body deposits fat, she may have looked "a little bit pregnant" in the past, and neither she nor others notice the extra bulk of a fetus.

4. Inaccurate use of birth control.
Many women are certain they could not be pregnant because they use birth control. However, all birth control methods have a failure rate, and the chance of pregnancy goes up exponentially if birth control methods are not used exactly as indicated: missing pills, expired condoms, and similar problems can result in surprise pregnancies in women who are sure they are in the clear.

3. Breakthrough bleeding.
Some women continue to have period-like bleeding throughout their pregnancy; it may be lighter or irregular, or even coincide with a woman's usual "time of the month." These pseudo-periods can be enough to convince a woman that she's not pregnant.

2. Negative home pregnancy test.
Home pregnancy tests aren't fool-proof. Whether taken or read incorrectly, or simply giving a false reading, once a woman has tested negative for pregnancy at home, she may simply rule it out.

1. History of irregular cycles and/or infertility.
Not being able to get pregnant in the past, a history of missing or irregular periods, and/or being close to menopause can all fool a woman into thinking she couldn't be pregnant. The truth is, unless a method of birth control is used every time a woman has sex, she can get pregnant!

Source: Top 10 Reasons Why Women Don't Know They Are Pregnant

Second cycle and no usual AF signs yet

Well.. its my cycle day 40.

Symptoms experienced: lower abs, buttocks and tailbone discomfort, bloated

I am a week delayed by this time. I am worried because I do not know what is really my status at this point. Having a negative urine test on CD 37, I do not know where or what should I do next. I do not want to undergo Beta Hcg test as I dont want to make my hopes up again. I am really confused. I am silly I know. I just want to get my cycle back on track.


I have been taking Duphaston for a week now. It says it really helps to induce menstruation if you are not pregnant and regulate the healthy growth and normal shedding of the uterus lining if you are pregnant. I do not know what to think. Many times that my mind plays tricks on me.

I just want to summarize the weird symptoms I experience on this cycle:

LMP: September 12, 2010
Days Cycle: 35-37 ( I don't do charting so I dont know when was I ovulated)
Hubby and I made love: September 25 and 27.
First bleeding: September 30 and October 1 (CD 19 and 20)
Second bleeding (spotting): October 12 (CD 30)
Urine testing date: October 7, 15, 17 (all negative)

Symptoms:
Fatigue, Spinal pain (back ache), chest pain, bloated, constipated, burping, sore throat

Doctors advice: take folic acid, exercise,lose weight :))

Next move (?): Take urine test on October 25 (Hubby's birthday!)

And after that, whatever the result is... get Beta Hcg test (blood test).

Retroverted, Tipped or Tilted Uterus

I just found out from my third gynae that I have a what so called Retroverted Uterus also known as tipped or tilted uterus. A normal uterus is located in a straigt up or down position inside of the pelvis. Some women have uterus tilted backwards pointing towards the spine. About 20% women worldwide have this kind of condition and unfortunately I am part of that 20%.

Below are the difference of the position of uterus for normal and having a tipped uterus.



Causes of Retroverted, Tipped or Tilted Uterus

Many women are born to have a uterus that is tipped in this position and I believe that is entirely normal. I have not asked my mother if she has the same condition as mine. But there certain factors that affect the position of uterus and these include the following:

Source: Womens Health UK

• Pregnancy: During pregnancy, the uterus becomes enlarged and the ligaments that hold the uterus in place become weakened. As a result, many women find that their uterus becomes retroverted after they have delivered their babies.
• Menopause: During menopause, estrogen levels drop rapidly in women. As with pregnancy, this can cause the ligaments that hold the uterus in place to weaken, allowing it to slip into a retroverted position.
• Reproductive Health Problems: Certain reproductive health issues, including pelvic inflammatory disease and endometriosis can cause the uterus to tilt backwards. This is because these illnesses can lead to scar tissue formation on the inside of the abdomen, forcing the uterus out of position.

Symptoms of Tipped Uterus

Source: Womens Health UK

Generally, the majority of women suffering from a retroverted uterus experience no symptoms. However, if symptoms do present, the two most commonly-occurring symptoms include:

• pain during sexual intercourse, particularly vaginal intercourse (dyspareunia)
• pain during menstruation (dysmenorrhea)

This pain and discomfort is the result of pressure that the retroverted uterus places on the rectum and the ligaments around the tailbone.

Well and how this condition affects me now?

Because until now I do not know if I am already bearing my own baby because of a series of negative tests but I am now experiencing a slight pain on my buttocks and around tailbone part. I am not sure if this is associated with pregnancy but I do sure that it is my first time to experience this kind of discomfort from the start of trying to conceive.

Building my own family

I left my work last April of this year to start planning a family of our own. Having a baby was not actually my at most desire on that time. Physically, emotionally and financially.. I was scared. I just could not see myself bearing a child and raising my own children. I am not tomboy if you were to ask! LOL! Admittedly, I was not maturely grown up yet. A lot of questions, a lot of what ifs, a lot of fears. It was really hard.

But I did not want to stop there and not fighting those hindrances. I conquered all fears. I conditioned my mind by watching a baby inside the womb of a mother via ultrasound. That was tough and yet a unexplainable joy and happiness were felt. A little creature growing inside a woman’s womb is an unbelievably wonderful and a very fulfilling moment. That’s an essence of being a woman I can say.

After 4 months of training (yeah right!), I was ready. It was August when we started to trying to conceive. We were excited but a little fear was still there. But the full excitement overcame those fears. We were dying to see the fruit of our love.

Having a little of knowledge of Physiology of Pregnancy I learned during the training, I knew on how we were going to do it to conceive surely. We did go to OB actually to see if my ovary was fine and nothing serious would be going to face later on. Fortunately, my ovary is normal and Doc let us see my egg, I was ovulating then. She said its perfect time for us to do it that night. And of course, we did it. That was August 26, 2010.

Two days later, I experienced some stretching on my belly. It was like I was having a 100 crunches. It was really uncomfortable. It was started in the morning and got worsen on the evening. I knew it was 1 sign of pregnancy because I felt that last year too (that was a different story). So I took rest and hope that tomorrow it would be gone. I really did not like that symptom. Again, another 2 days later, back pain, sore boobs, bloated and constipation struck me big time. I felt that I was already 4 months pregnant LOL! But a very painful experience was felt the day after that. It run for 3 days pain straight. I declared myself on a bed rest. I knew that I was really pregnant. I broadcast to my family and friends and said I did not like these symptoms at all! I was on pain. Hubby took me to nearby OB clinic to have it checked. Because it was too early to tell if I was really pregnant (it was my cycle day 31) , he prescribed me Duphaston and Folic acid. But on September 12, I was shocked that my AF or mens came. It should not be. I supposed to have a baby inside me. For 4-5 days bleeding I was still hoping. No, I was not desperate. I just explained what I knew was right. I had a faith on the belief. But one week that I had not felt any pregnancy so I stopped my fantasy and finally gave up. But at the back of mind, it was half truth. The faith was still there. (Promise, I’m not crazy!).

A week after that, during on my birthday week, the symptoms came back! And oh.. I did forget, how many times that I tested by urine test, and it was all negative. Oh well, that’s perfectly fine and normal. There are a lot of stories on having a negative urine and blood test but ended up pregnant. That was I kept on holding on. That belief. On our second TTC, sore boobs, back pain, constipation came my way again after the make love on CD 15 and 16. I knew I was really pregnant. So finally we went to another OB again recommended by a friend. An old guy doctor. That’s fine. So I told him my fantasy stories and gave me an ultrasound, to my surprise, he could see nothing. He told me, what I experienced was probably hormonal imbalance. Yeah right, 2 day bleeding on CD 19, 20 and some symptoms, that’s just a hormonal imbalance. WTH! I was just fantasizing! But he said, I should not be worried, that bleeding could also be an implantation bleeding. Here I was again, false hoping!

At CD 30, 2 spots came out. I immediately took duphaston. What was really happening I did not know. It was not fun at all. At CD 32, I experienced nausea, no, I knew it was not my imagination! I threw up at middle of the night. On the next morning, I was excited to test but again, a negative result came out. I really did not know what’s going on. I did not want to expect anymore. Today, its my CD 34 and vomiting always comes in me. No, I did not bother anymore. Well, I think this is the pay of what I did not want before. In reality, It’s hard …what I thought as fast and easy goal.