I’m a GP – here’s why you might not notice you’re pregnant until you give birth
EVER heard of the term ‘cryptic’ or ‘invisible pregnancy’?
It refers to when a person doesn’t know they’re pregnant – sometimes until they go into labour – because they’re not displaying the most recognised markers of the condition, such as a baby bump.
This might sound pretty unlikely.
But a GP has taken to TikTok to explain why some people don’t realise they have a baby on the way, until it’s literally on the way.
The platform’s favourite NHS surgeon Dr Karan Rajan – boasting a whopping 5.1 million followers – responded to a video from another TikTok creator, who described not having a baby bump throughout her whole pregnancy.
“At first I didn’t think anything of it because it was early on – but then as the months went by I still had nothing,” the user said.
Dr Rajan weighed into the discussion, stating: “Fun fact, sometimes a pregnancy can be invisible, with the baby in cloud storage.”
The surgeon said there are things that could result in this mysterious turn of events, one of those being a retroverted uterus.
“Most women have an anteverted uterus, [meaning] it’s slightly tilted forwards,” Dr Rajan explained.
“But one in five have a backwards tilt towards the spine.”
The GP explained that for some women, their uterus may remain tiled backwards for the duration of their pregnancy.
“This ‘backwards growth’ could hide any bump,” he stated.
Other factors that could result in an invisible pregnancy could be “previous surgery, endometriosis and other gynaecological conditions [that] could scar the utroseacral ligament”.
“These are basically biological anchors which keep the uterus fixed to the spine and inside the pelvic cavities,” Dr Rajan explained.
“If these are stiff because of scarring, these ligaments can literally hold the uterus back and stop it from protruding too far out.”
People who are taller also have more of a chance of not displaying a noticeable bump when they’re expecting, the NHS surgeon went on.
“If you’re taller, you’ll have a longer torso so there’ll be more space for the uterus to develop upwards rather than just outwards,” he said, possibly giving the appearance of a small bump.
And you have particularly “well developed” abs, this may make your uterus “develop closer to your core rather than protruding out”.
Common signs of pregnancy
There are a few recognisable early signs of pregnancy.
These include:
- a missed or lighter period
- feeling sick, usually from when you’re about four to six weeks along
- feeling tired
- sore breasts and darker nipples
- peeing more
- a metallic taste in your mouth
- new food cravings
- losing interest in foods you usually enjoy
Home pregnancy tests are pretty reliable in most cases, the NHS states.
You should contact your GP surgery or local midwife service as soon as you find out you’re pregnant, ideally before eight weeks into the pregnancy.
Source: NHS