r/interesting • u/IshigamiSenku04 • 1d ago

This woman never had a baby bump throughout her pregnancy MISC.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

The baby was totally fine

42.1k Upvotes

81% Upvoted

View all comments

Show parent comments

38

u/Vcheck1 1d ago

How do they not know after all that time?

92

u/ChocolateAxis 1d ago edited 1d ago

I guess they're just used to stomach problems? Can't imagine not going to the doctor's after feeling and seeing kicks though.

Edit: Very fascinating that it really is possible the women just chalked it up to the usual pains. Thanks to all who took the time to reply.

53

u/poppalopp 1d ago

When they’re sitting at the back to the point that there’s no visible bump, you often cannot feel any kicking and definitely can’t see it.

36

u/Anxious_cactus 1d ago edited 1d ago

Okay but let's ignore the bump not showing, there's other signs like if you didn't get your period for 6+ months??

I'm m a woman with an irregular period but after 4-5 months without my period showing up even I would at least buy a $15 pregnancy test and make a doctor's appointment.

There's just no way all of those cases are women who regularly go months without having a period to a point where it seems normal to them? I just don't get it

Edit: thanks for answers everyone, I actually learned a lot today! I didn't think about hormonal birth control effects, PCOS and other medical conditions that might make missing a period not such a "suspicious" thing for everyone

52

u/FlippantAnswersOnly 1d ago

Some women still bleed throughout their pregnancies.

-17

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago edited 1d ago

No. This is a myth. And a dangerous one at that. Most women do NOT bleed during pregnancy. In fact, if you know you’re pregnant and are bleeding, you should visit your doctor asap.

This mostly happens to women who already have a history of irregular periods who then mistake any spotting or light bleeding as their period.

Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/22044-bleeding-during-pregnancy

16

u/StrangeKittehBoops 1d ago

Years ago, a friend of mine gave birth to a healthy baby boy when she was in hospital for something unrelated to pregnancy. She had her period every month, had no bump, the baby wasn't a kicker, and she had absolutely no clue she was pregnant. She had even had blood tests and other treatments during the preceding 9 months. She was 17, and she had been told that she couldn't have children. She had 3 more after that. One of those was similar to the first, bleeding every month, and no bump, born healthy. They're all grown up and parents themselves now.

1

u/DPetrilloZbornak 1d ago

She did not have her period. That is medically impossible. You do not have a period when you are pregnant. Menstrual bleeding does not equal a period. Your friend was not ovulating and shedding her uterine lining while maintaining a pregnancy. If she was she is a literal medical miracle.

She experienced vaginal bleeding. She did not have a period. Similar to having breakthrough bleeding when you’re on the pill. That’s not a period either.

1

u/StrangeKittehBoops 1d ago

Well, that's obvious. But she didn't know that at the time, did she? She didn't even know she was pregnant. She assumed it was a period.

-19

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

At 17, your friend’s body was nowhere ready to carry the load of a healthy pregnancy, hence why the anomaly of her bleeding all throughout.

Our bodies need to be developed adequately to support a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Most doctors thus recommend women to not have babies before age 20.

Statistical anomalies ALWAYS exist; they however, are NOT the norm. They are outliers whose existence strengthens the norm even further.

At 17, your friend didn’t have a “healthy” pregnancy and her symptoms are thus, expected with her age and condition.

Most healthy women, however, do NOT continue to have their periods during their pregnancy and any bleeding is usually indicative of some complications.

6

u/StrangeKittehBoops 1d ago edited 1d ago

Edit. Also, regarding your quotation marks, I never said she had a healthy pregnancy, I said she gave birth to a healthy baby. (Four in total)

Absolutely not true in her case. She was 30 when she had the other one that she bled with.

Plenty of women give birth at that age. It was considered normal to be married and have kids young in the 20th century. My mother was married at 18 in the 1950s. I'm not saying it's right. I think there are still areas in the US that allow it far younger than that today?

This was in the UK in the early 80s. My friend was fit (gymnast), had a flat, and had a full-time job, both since she left school at 16. When she suddenly gave birth (two months before she was 18) her and her boyfriend were shocked but overjoyed because they thought they'd be childless. They were together and happy for nearly 35 years. She worked in healthcare.

1

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Did she bleed a hearty amount, as in regular, multiple pad filling bleeding, or mild spotting? The latter is common in pregnancy; the former simply isn’t unless there are other complications involved.

→ More replies

1

u/TrickGrimes 1d ago

Just stop. You have no idea what you’re talking about.

1

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Sure. And people saying pregnant women can have regular period like bleeding every month know what they’re talking about. I rest my case.

12

u/C3ntrick 1d ago

Good thing person you responded to said “some “

As in it happens

8

u/queenlybearing 1d ago

No one said most women do, but SOME do. I have had 4 children and did have period-like bleeding during all 4 pregnancies and all pregnancies/births were otherwise normal.

-3

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

“Bleeding or spotting in the first trimester is common. Between 15% and 25% of all pregnant people experience bleeding or spotting in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Even though it’s common, you should still call your healthcare provider to let them know.”

Bleeding in the second or third trimesters is less common and may be a sign of a more serious condition. Contact your healthcare provider immediately so they’re aware of your symptoms.

Some conditions that can cause bleeding in the second and third trimesters are:

Placenta previa: When the placenta covers all or part of your cervix. Placental abruption: A rare condition where the placenta detaches from the wall of your uterus. This can be dangerous for both you and the fetus. Preterm labor: Going into labor earlier than 37 weeks of pregnancy. Other symptoms of preterm labor are contractions, cramping or your water breaking. Labor: Going into labor after 37 weeks can cause you to bleed, too. Incompetent cervix: When the cervix opens (dilates) too early. Bloody show: Light bleeding mixed with mucus that occurs toward the end of your pregnancy. It can be a sign of labor. Miscarriage: A loss of the pregnancy before 20 weeks. A stillbirth occurs when you lose the pregnancy after 20 weeks.“

This is straight from the Mayo Clinic’s website; so point still stands.

“Light bleeding or spotting” is common during early pregnancy; period like bleeding is definitely not. Most doctors would recommend bed rest to a pregnant woman who continues to bleed heavily throughout her pregnancy, and very few among such women will have a healthy, complication-free pregnancy.

Just because you or a few women you know had this and came out fine does NOT mean you can just tell others that it is common, because it is not.

3

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

I am a woman who has been pregnant multiple times, thank you.

→ More replies

-1

u/DPetrilloZbornak 1d ago

She is correct that you do not have a period while pregnant. You may have vaginal bleeding which mimics a period but it is not a period which means something specific medically. Unless you’re claiming that your friend ovulated and then shed her uterine lining for 9 months while pregnant (she didn’t).

→ More replies

1

u/tumericjesus 1d ago

Stop arguing you’ve been proven wrong it’s embarrassing

1

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Actually no, nobody has proven me wrong yet. Because people are simply not understanding my statement. You just can’t have regular periods in pregnancy. Any doctor worth their salt will tell you this.

3

u/remarkablejuape 1d ago

That is definitely not a myth at all. I know multiple women who bled through pregnancies that were fine. Anything over filling a pad an hour especially accompanied by pain is when it can possibly become a concern and a doctor should be seen quickly. Subchorionic hemorrhages are common and can cause a lot of bleeding even but more often than not resolve themselves and lead to a normal live birth. While issues should definitely not be ignored and it is better to just see your doctor than not, it is not good to fear monger what can already be very stressful and demanding experience.

0

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago edited 1d ago

What you’re referring to is known as “spotting”, and yes it is common during early pregnancy. What I am talking about is heavy, period like bleeding, which doesn’t happen in pregnancy.

Because the biological mechanism for periods is completely opposite to what happens during a pregnancy; both can’t be sustained in a healthy pregnancy.

Hence, women “bleeding” throughout pregnancy is NOT a thing.

0

u/remarkablejuape 1d ago

I’m aware of what spotting is, and both spotting and bleeding are common. The Cleveland Clinic, which you cited, explicitly says both bleeding and spotting are common, especially in the 1st trimester, and could be from implantation, hormonal changes, changes in the cervix or issues I already mentioned such as subchorionic hemorrhage. Doctors should definitely be made aware of bleeding but it is common and can be normal. There’s obviously a difference between the mechanism of a period and period-like bleeding which can happen during pregnancy.

0

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Yes, and any “bleeding” thereof wouldn’t be period like, which was my whole point. If you have a regular, healthy period, you wouldn’t mistake implantation bleeding (which is a smidge of blood btw mostly) for actual periods, which last multiple days and are heavier in flow.

→ More replies

3

u/mshmama 1d ago

No one said most women. It is not a myth that SOME women still bleed through pregnancy.
And no one said that those SOME women weren't seeking medical care. But medical care can't always stop the bleeding, so it can continue for some women. Unless you'd like to try to tell me that my own personal experience didn't happen.
Also, you have to know you're pregnant to seek medical care for bleeding while pregnant, which is kind of the whole point of a discussion on people not knowing they are pregnant.

2

u/toboggan16 1d ago

I bled at times throughout both my pregnancies, my cervix just gets easily irritated and would cause bleeding if I exercised (even a walk) or had sex. A few times it was heavy enough I had it checked out and every time baby was fine and they told me it was just my cervix again and unless I had cramping or was losing lots of blood like clots I was ok since it was normal for me. With my first I was trying to get pregnant but at 4 weeks I had a negative test and at 5 weeks I had bleeding and my periods are super irregular and vary in how heavy so it wasn’t until I started throwing up nonstop at 6.5 weeks that I found out I was pregnant.

But absolutely you should get checked out if you know you’re pregnant and are bleeding, there’s lots of different reasons for bleeding and your doctor needs to figure out what’s going on.

0

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

That is the whole point; you knew your bleeding wasn’t heavy and period like. My comment was about women having “regular periods” during pregnancy which is simply not possible.

Light bleeding, cramping and spotting are common in pregnancy, but one can easily tell the difference between those and regular periods.

Unless, ofcourse, you have lighter and irregular periods to begin with, which is what I stated in my comment.

2

u/AltairaMorbius2200CE 1d ago

Obviously ALWAYS talk to your OB about everything that happens during pregnancy, including special calls for bleeding, but: bleeding is pretty common and doesn’t automatically mean miscarriage.

I had spotting (once that felt like outright bleeding) during both of my pregnancies that worked out and none in the one that miscarried. Drs were unsurprised. All of the women close enough to me to tell me about their periods went through similar things during pregnancy. As the doctors always say, “everything is very…vascular…down there, so mild irritation can make it bleed.”

Implantation bleeding is also very common. So even though you might only bleed a little bit the once during pregnancy, it’s EXACTLY when you’d expect your period after having sex that might make you pregnant. So a person who had sex the once a few months back would be going “I had my period after that unprotected sex, so I must not have been pregnant from that time, and I haven’t had sex since so it must not be pregnancy!”

0

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Again, mild bleeding and spotting is common; my comment was about women having “regular periods” during pregnancy, which is simply not possible unless you have 2 uteruses or some complications.

Spotting is NOT period bleeding; hence most phantom pregnancies happen in women who already have lighter periods to begin with.

That was my whole point.

2

u/Historical-Syrup-652 1d ago

Wrong. I've known 2 Women in my life that carried a pregnancy to term - and had no idea they were pregnant until it was time to push. Periods and all. Just because you say it isn't the 'norm' doesn't mean its true. This happens a lot more than people think. My father was an ER doctor for 40 years, he can't count how many times women gave birth and had no idea they were pregnant. Anecdotal, but to say what you said so confidently just shows how little you are aware of the situation.

0

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Those women must have had light periods to begin with, because uterine lining shedding (periods) can NOT happen during a healthy pregnancy, as there is no uterine lining to shed.

Light spotting is NOT period bleeding. I can’t keep making this clear.

2

u/NebulaicCaster 1d ago

I'm going to blow your mind rn. My cousin has 2 uteruses and had a baby in each at the same time. Her twins are just brothers that happened to be born on the same day. Not fraternal twins, not twins at all. She got pregnant twice at the same time, carried both to term, and had 2 healthy boys. If someone with 2 uteruses only got pregnant in one, would the other one not continue to shed and cause the woman to have her period while being pregnant?

1

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Having 2 uteruses is definitely NOT a common occurrence and yes, bleeding is possible in such cases.

2

u/ABelleWriter 1d ago

How is it a myth that some women bleed during their pregnancies, and then you go on to say that if a pregnant woman is bleeding she should go to the Dr??

Some women bleed during pregnancy. It's not a good sign. But it happens. (My mom had irregular periods and bled 4-5 times during one of her pregnancies, just often enough that she didn't know she was pregnant until she was about 6 months in)

1

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Bleeding is NOT light bleeding and spotting. My comment was about somebody stating women can have “regular periods like bleeding” during pregnancy, which is simply not possible as their biological mechanisms are completely opposite.

You can’t shed your uterine lining (periods) while pregnant or you risk harming the fetus; what you can have is mild bleeding or spotting which is nowhere close to what regular periods look like.

The only way you’d mistake that for regular periods is if you have lighter or irregular periods to begin with, which was basically my whole point.

1

u/ABelleWriter 1d ago

You CAN have heavy bleeding in pregnancy. You cannot have a period, but you CAN have period like bleeding.

You are running around this post with poor reading comprehension and absolutely contradicting yourself.

Idk what is going on in your life that you feel like you need to talk down to people the way you are when you are incredibly, factually, and scientifically incorrect.

Have a day.

1

u/Illustrious_Fix2933 1d ago

Please tell me you didn’t just say that women can have “heavy bleeding” every month throughout their pregnancy and it be a “common” thing? You do realise periods and pregnancy are two completely opposing mechanisms? How then, pray tell, can these two coexist in one person?

→ More replies

1

u/TrickGrimes 1d ago

No one said “most women”, only you did. SOME women do experience bleeding during pregnancy.

0

u/soursheep 1d ago

what are your qualifications here...?

-13

u/kaijubait000 1d ago

Don't spread things like this. Bleeding during pregnancy is ALWAYS bad

13

u/nkdeck07 1d ago

That's not true. I had cervical ectropian off and on with my first kid for months and no danger to me or baby. That particular one is actually really common

6

u/jingleheimerstick 1d ago

My best friend bled her entire pregnancy and had a healthy 10 lb baby.

2

u/fun_boat 1d ago

that is a fuckin' giant baby

1

u/jingleheimerstick 1d ago

She had a second that weighed 12 pounds!

-7

u/kaijubait000 1d ago

When you noticed it did you get it checked out? You know, because doctors tell us to report any bleeding during pregnancy. Point stands if so.

4

u/nkdeck07 1d ago

Yes I did , that's how I knew it wasn't a big deal. My bigger point is that bleeding through out a pregnancy with out it being problematic is pretty common and makes sense in the context of a cryptic pregnancy. They want you to get looked at cause they won't know until they do. You aren't making the point you think you are. Bleeding during pregnancy isn't always bad, it just always needs to be checked out

4

u/tl_west 1d ago

“Should be checked out” =/= “is always bad”

You would have come across much better if you had accepted the correction gracefully.

5

u/MissAuroraRed 1d ago

You can easily look this up online. Some light spotting is common, especially in the first trimester. It happened to my mother and that's why she didn't know she was pregnant for 4 months.

-2

u/kaijubait000 1d ago

Implantation spotting isn't bleeding. That's why it's referred to as spotting. There is very much a difference.

3

u/MissAuroraRed 1d ago

If you normally have light periods, it can be hard to tell the difference. I'm not gonna go question my mother about it right now, but she said it happened several times and it seemed like a light period to her. It's not only implantation bleeding that causes this. It could also just be that the cervix is sensitive, or a number of other benign things.

"Small amounts of bleeding during the second trimester are typical and may not signal a problem." -source

ETA I agreed that of course you should ask your doctor if you're bleeding while pregnant and don't know why. I'm just making this argument because we were discussing how someone could not know that they're pregnant.

0

u/kaijubait000 1d ago

No yeah absolutely. I'm just of the opinion that you should always get bleeding checked out because it could be bad and a lot of times it is. It seems like the examples being stated are you know not the norm. I fully know that people cannot know they're pregnant. I'm just saying: bleeding. Check it out

→ More replies

4

u/SibylUnrest 1d ago edited 1d ago

Spotting is light bleeding from the vagina that is noticeable but not substantial enough to soak a pad or liner. The blood is typically brown or dark red.

-Medical News Today

edit: lol they deleted their account over this comment chain? Farewell, kaijubait000, we hardly knew ye.

5

u/dream-smasher 1d ago

Nope, they didn't delete their account..... They blocked you!!

Hahahah. They took their ball and went home because everyone was proving their bullshit wrong.

2

u/queenlybearing 1d ago

No, it’s not. Please listen to mothers who have been through it. Many of us, and our children, are fine.

2

u/leveeOHsuh 1d ago

I bled a few times during my second pregnancy. Freaked out every time, went to the ER. Everything was fine, can't remember the reason for bleeding. Baby was born between the two due dates they expected, perfectly healthy 7lb 4oz baby girl! She's almost 10 now 🥹

37

u/poppalopp 1d ago

I mean, the bump not showing is the entire point.

Irregular periods are extremely common. Many women also don’t have periods at all for a variety of reasons but can still get pregnant.

It’s super common. It’s way more common to miss periods for long lengths of time than it is to get pregnant while that’s happening so I have zero problem believing it.

Is your theory that they’re just all idiots or what?

1

u/Just-Diamond-1938 1d ago

Idiots? Yes people are skeptical until it happens to someone they actually know... I was hearing about this from early on then I also know people who it happened to... that is part of the mystery of life... please don't judge people because you might never experience it or know about it.❤️😳

1

u/poppalopp 1d ago

Yes babe, my point was that they’re obviously not idiots.

0

u/LindwormBride 1d ago

But what about all the other hormonal changes that happen? Are they just not affected at all? Not implying that they are idiots in any way, just shocked that they would feel NOTHING abnormal 😱

15

u/halabala33 1d ago

Your brain can lie to you though. If you never think you are pregnant, every symptom gets a different explanation. No period? Stress and hormones? Baby kicking? Must be the beans we had for dinner.

18

u/quixotictictic 1d ago

A lifetime of medical gaslighting really sets women up to gaslight themselves. When I was younger, endometriosis and a number of other conditions were things women were just supposed to stop complaining about. The amount of pain women are expected to endure and think it's nothing is ridiculous. Thankfully that is starting to change.

8

u/Cut_Lanky 1d ago

It was starting to change. I don't think the momentum will continue, considering our country has collectively decided that it's acceptable to just let us die if we have a medical emergency during pregnancy.

2

u/quixotictictic 1d ago

Yeah, it sucks to be trans right now but trans man is still a huge step up from chattle. I live in a red state and I just walk around knowing nearly everyone I see voted for this. I will never trust my fellow Americans again.

→ More replies

3

u/E0H1PPU5 1d ago

When I was pregnant (I knew right away because we were trying lol) I had what I now know is hyperemesis gravidarum…..I was nauseous 24/7 and vomiting anywhere from 15-40 times per day.

I was consistently losing weight my whole pregnancy (I was overweight to start) and my doctor actually told me I was doing a great job at not gaining too much.

It wasn’t until I was 7.5 months pregnant my doctor asked if I was eating enough and I was like “yeah I try but I usually barf it back up”

And by then it didn’t matter because I gave birth less than a month later but the doctors were like “why didn’t you say anything” and my response was….Ive been told my whole life that all of my pain and discomfort is normal. Everything from asthma to a torn ACL and dislocated hip have been written off by physicians as me needing to lose weight, track my period, or rest more.

Why would I think something like vomiting is suddenly important?!

1

u/elviscostume 1d ago

I already get nauseous like 5x a week for a ton of different reasons, and I'm definitely not pregnant lol. If I got pregnant and it didn't show I could 100% see me just being like "wow I feel really fucked up!" for several months in a row and then just giving birth out of nowhere.

2

u/LindwormBride 1d ago

Yes thankfully! A few of my besties have endometriosis and getting help or even doctors to take their pain seriously has been infuriating to watch :(

2

u/halabala33 1d ago

Exactly! I have two kids, and now anytime I have to have unpleasant examination they wave off my concerns, saying if I could handle delivering a baby, I can handle this too. As if after living through horrendous pain once or twice you are suddenly able to miraculously not feel a thing.

2

u/KickBallFever 1d ago

I’m a woman and the gaslighting in the medical industry is too real. I was in the hospital, sick enough to be admitted for days, and nauseous with a bin of vomit next to my bed. A doctor came in, clearly saw the vomit bin, and asked me how I knew it wasn’t “all in my head”. Basically asking me to convince him I wasn’t a nut job. Turns out I had a rare syndrome that required surgery. The diagnosis and surgery took years to get because I wasn’t being taken seriously. There is also a good bit of sexual assault being done to women by medical professionals too, but that’s another story.

1

u/LindwormBride 1d ago

Oh nooo, not the beans 😂 Great points! So many friends have told me their pregnancy experiences, and I have seen it first hand with one of my besties, all of them knew something was off from how they were feeling and it was not a good time. But also it does seem like everyone's experience is different, and that's so interesting to hear!

1

u/mshmama 1d ago

I knew I was pregnant with my second, but had zero symptoms. He was posterior so I had no bump and I didn't feel him kick until the third trimester. There was never any visible kicks, and I've felt gas stronger than his kicks. There was no stress or hormonal changes.

The explanation isn't different for everything- it's that pregnancy is very different for everyone. While someone may have a ton of symptoms, someone may have none. And also, many things like PCOS can affect your GI system too with things like indigestion and gas so bad it's visible from the outside moving through your body. So the same medical issues that can make it difficult to become pregnant also can cause issues that are similar to pregnancy symptoms. If you've had hormonal acne, mood swings, indigestion, and terrible gas your whole life due to medical issues, it's really not thar difficult to assume that hormonal acne, mood swings, indigestion, and movement that feels and looks like gas are just those same medical issues.

1

u/Optimal_Fish_7029 1d ago

My cousin never felt her baby kick due to an anterior placenta. She could sometimes feel the baby rolling over, but said honestly she usually couldn't tell if it was the baby or gas. Her daughter is now 6 months old!

1

u/naivemetaphysics 1d ago

Not to mention if the placenta is in a lot of places other than the back, you can end up not feeling the kicks. I didn’t feel my first because of that and it looked like I was breathing whenever he did kick.

3

u/mrniceguy777 1d ago

Some woman just go through basically that on a regular basis anyway so it could be easy to not realize something was a foot

2

u/awesomobottom 1d ago

When you're in it, you don't realize it. I was in denial about my ppd. With my first kid I didn't have any morning sickness and she didn't move at all. If it wasn't for my big belly, I wouldn't have known I was pregnant.

1

u/LindwormBride 1d ago

Oh wow that's amazing! I saw first hand one of my best friends have horrible morning sickness and mood swings and back pain so early in her pregnancy. And I have spoken to other friends who had major symptoms as well, like suddenly having new allergies, or fantastic hair 😂 That's amazing you had no serious changes, and a bit of a blessing it seems 🩷

1

u/awesomobottom 1d ago

I got lucky. I think it was genetic. My mom and grandma were the same.

1

u/Tikithing 1d ago

I mean, I'm wildly unreasonable for a few days once a month, but I only realise that I'm probably the problem once I get my period. Before that, you just think everyone is being especially irritating. Hormones are weird.

2

u/LindwormBride 1d ago

It is so interesting how everyone's experiences are different! I tend to just be emotional over little things and not know why and then go.. oh wait 😂 Even though this has happened for 20 years LMAO. It is so interesting to hear everyone's pregnancy stories. So far all of my friends have had big hormonal symptoms, it's pretty amazing someone could go through pregnancy without that 🙏

1

u/NebulaicCaster 1d ago

I swear, my intestines wiggle and writhe and do all sorts of things. I assume that when I get pregnant, I will have a hard time feeling the baby for what it is and not just gas.

0

u/shumpitostick 1d ago

You can't get pregnant if you don't ovulate.

1

u/poppalopp 1d ago

You don’t have to have a period to ovulate, what’s your point?

1

u/shumpitostick 1d ago

Yes? What conditions cause you to ovulate but not have a period? Because I can't find anything about that.

It's certainly not super common.

1

u/poppalopp 1d ago

Read again. Irregular periods are super common.

Amenorrhea can be caused by a large number of things, not all of which include anovulation.

Idk bro Google it

1

u/shumpitostick 1d ago

Yes, irregular periods come with irregular ovulation (and sometimes, no ovulation).

If you read the source you linked, you'll see it says that Amenhorrhea almost always comes from a failure to ovulate, and the few other causes are also things that cause infertility.

→ More replies

0

u/Last-Leg-8457 1d ago edited 1d ago

Is your theory that they’re just all idiots or what?

Honestly, yes. There's some sort of idiocy and/or willful denial involved in these cases. Also, the overwhelming majority of these cases are from obese women that are in general denial of their health issues overall, which is also the most significant reason why they don't see their bump.

8

u/Kinkystormtrooper 1d ago

I don't have my period regularly, and if I do it's a few drops of blood max, I could go 9 months without it and not notice anything wrong

5

u/Friendly_Grocery2890 1d ago

Honestly it would take me 4-5 months to even notice I didn't have a period

I did find out I was pregnant around 12 weeks though because the women around me were all like "when the last time you had your period"

I did get a bump though around 6-7 months so I would've noticed then, but if noone had of pointed anything out I would've just assumed the puking was some kind of sickness

1

u/Last-Leg-8457 1d ago

Sexually active, missed periods, puking, wouldn't notice your bump if other people didn't point it out...

Yeah, nothing I've read in this thread has changed my mind that idiocy is the single biggest contributing factor to this.

1

u/Friendly_Grocery2890 1d ago

I had been asexually active for almost a decade and never once had a condom fail before that

My periods could not come for months at a time or last months at a time

I was a 22 year old who smoked and drank a bunch and worked myself ragged, feeling nauseous was not out of character for me at all

In fact the main reason I even suspected it enough after people pointed it put, to even do a test, was because my beer and smoke just tasted all kinds of fuckin nasty

But aren't you just a peach x

-1

u/Anxious_cactus 1d ago

Genuine question but how come it would take you 4-5 months to notice you didn't have a period? Is it usually that irregular that you go several months without getting it, or is it just not something you pay attention to?

Mine are super painful, I get headaches that last for 3 days etc so I'd definitely notice that

1

u/Friendly_Grocery2890 1d ago

They've always just been weird, I've had a few times where I didn't get one at all for 4-6 months when I was a Virgin so I knew I wasn't pregnant then, I'd seen doctors about my periods and they never did anything so I figured it was just my normal. I also get super heavy and painful periods and they last like 10 days usually but I can generally feel when it's coming soon so I've never consciously tracked it, I just appreciate not having it and dread getting it again lmao I've also had times where my period just will not stop, longest I had it was 5 months and I ended up getting progesterone pills from the doc to stop it and he said once it stops you should be fine to stop the pills and if it's starts again straight away come back, but it didn't so I was like ah cool it's fine whatever

My periods caused me a lot of stress when I was young so I just stopped thinking about it really, I just deal with it when it comes.

Even after I gave birth I bled for a year straight. But the doctors all just went "huh? That's weird" and left it at that so I still just don't think much about it all because I'll get freaked out and I get no answers so it's all whatever

1

u/Future_Outcome 1d ago

I didn’t get a period for 9 years, mid-20s to mid-30s. Was perfectly healthy and never pregnant. Some people just don’t.

1

u/wannabe2700 1d ago

It's known that men can avoid doctors like plague but there must be women like that too

1

u/quixotictictic 1d ago

Women who have PCOS or who are on birth control don't have periods for months at a time or at all in some cases. Even if you suspect you are pregnant, urine tests have minimum and maximum thresholds for hcg, so people on the lower end may not test positive and partway through the first trimester people may be too high to test positive. They may also have spotting and they may bleed every month because of how the amniotic sack and placenta form in the uterus. Ok, so you have no positive tests and you think you're pregnant... do you think doctors take you seriously? If it turns out you're not, which will be the majority of the time, now you have a hysterical pregnancy and they think you have psychological problems. Good luck getting good care after that. The worst part is blood testing can have lab errors or also be on the wrong side of the limits, and ultrasounds before 10 weeks can easily miss an embryo, especially if that gyno isn't looking that hard. Then we get to the part where 25% of pregnancies at minimum self-terminate very early on, so you could have a positive test but no pregnancy.

Pregnancy is not as easy and straightforward as your legislators would have you believe.

As for feeling movement, etc, estrogen and progesterone really mess up your insides. So lots of women always feel ambiguous movements and they are not a baby, they are just hormones and maybe endometriosis tearing their guts up.

1

u/icantoteit136 1d ago

Well they might not even be used to having their period anyway cause I’ve just been on birth control for a long time to suppress that, so I wouldn’t know. The birth control could fail, and then if you keep taking it unknowingly (which apparently doesn’t kill the baby) you could just continue not having a period

1

u/Reasonable_Unit4053 1d ago

Me, a woman with PCOS who has never had a regular period and is on a form of birth control that means I can go years without getting my period if I want, and who is (knock on wood!!) infertile afaik so would never think I was pregnant: 🧍🏼‍♀️

1

u/OtherAccount5252 1d ago

I don't get periods really at all. Pcos/hormonal birth control. I had one in March. It was the first one in years.

My mom alternatively spotted just enough for her to think she just was having her period. Combined with a no show belly bump and already having some eating issues, she didn't find out until 8 months in.

1

u/Cut_Lanky 1d ago

A lot of women still get a "period" during pregnancy. It's really not that uncommon.

1

u/natiAV 1d ago

You'd be surprised how long many people take to see a doctor or take any proactive step towards health. Some people just "wait it out" or don't care.

1

u/Unable-Principle-187 1d ago

Honestly if you’re having sex why not just take a cheap pregnancy test every month? Better to have that knowledge and not need it than need it and not have it

1

u/Straight-Parking-555 1d ago

Some people get pregnant whilst on birth control which alters their periods, some birth controls can stop your periods all together so i imagine a few women have unexpectedly gotten pregnant that way before under the guise that they are protected from pregnancy

1

u/TideOneOn 1d ago

I'm gonna roughly quote George Carlin here. Think of how stupid the average person is and then realize that half the people are dumber than that guy.

1

u/turdusphilomelos 1d ago

Even if you dont think about period, didn't they have pregnancy symptoms? Nausea? Tiredness? Swelling of limbs? Feeling out of breath? Trouble sleeping? Pelvic girdle pain? You are saying some people never have those?!

1

u/SilverIrony1056 1d ago

I had my period skip 6 months and up to a year. I knew I wasn't pregnant because I didn't have sex, back then I was still a virgin.

I also had bleeding during the first months of pregnancy and I personally know 3 other women of various ages who had periods through out all their pregnancies. (They knew they were pregnant, though.)

Cases like this young woman are extremes and what we consider normal symptoms do not usually apply. Kicks can be confused with cramps or if it was anything like my pregnancy, a heart attack (my kid loved to kick upwards, toward my heart).

1

u/DilligentlyAwkward 1d ago

I didn't have a period for the entirety of my 20s and part of my 30s. I was on the pill and skipped the placebo weeks. Since there is no medical reason to have a monthly period, I was not going to deal with that mess and pain. I wouldn't have known I was pregnant unless and until I had a physical reason to suspect.

1

u/mshmama 1d ago

You are a woman with relatively normal reproductive organs. I am not. I've gone years without a period before. So had I not been testing, the 9 months without a period would have not been any different than the 2 years without a period prior to that.

I've also had years with what's best described as a "slow leaking faucet" and no period, just spotting the majority of the month. One of my pregnancies also had spotting the majority of the pregnancy, so the sudden spotting after doing a Costco run was no different than what had happened previously.

1

u/disnerd294 1d ago

I’m currently on a birth control plan where I go months without having periods. At this point I have about two periods a year, but I regularly buy pregnancy tests to take at home juuuuust in case for this exact fear of what if somehow I got pregnant and didn’t know for months

1

u/HalfDrowBard 1d ago

I’ve gone over a year without one before and it somehow wasn’t early menopause. PCOS is crazy!

1

u/the__pov 1d ago

Knew a girl in high school who didn’t know until her water broke on the basketball court during a school game. She later said that she had her period regularly all through her pregnancy.

1

u/CharredCereus 1d ago

Idk, my longest stretch without a period is a year and a half. I can see it happening. I don't bother counting the time between it. If it happens it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

Still a wild situation to have a pregnancy go full term without being noticed of course.

1

u/ksdkjlf 1d ago

Kinda off-topic, but FYI dollar-store pregnancy tests are just as accurate as the fancy ones, since they're all federally-regulated medical devices

1

u/Ultimatedream 1d ago

My sister got pregnant 3 months after giving birth. She just thought her hormones were still out of whack until 6 months in when she felt the baby kick.

1

u/dodoexpress90 1d ago

So, during my first pregnancy, I had 0 symptoms. We were trying to have a baby, so we knew right away. I was never sick or anything, and my baby bump didn't show for so long. I had a co-worker ask if I was okay or if I lost the baby.

The birth was extremely risky. Apparently, 0 symptoms at all is a red flag for a harsh delivery. The doctor told me for my body to go through that many changes with no sideffects is a sign.

By my second child, I blew up like I needed to be set free in the ocean. All the symptoms came with it, too. Delivery was simple. 30 mins and done.

10

u/AyCarambin0 1d ago

Never underestimate the power of selective perception. It shapes how individuals interpret and respond to the world around them, filtering information through personal experiences, biases, and expectations. This phenomenon influences decision-making, problem-solving, and even interpersonal relationships, often without conscious awareness.

1

u/imissher4ever 1d ago

Exactly, I bet she started feeling “fat” so she started eating less instead of more.

6

u/Limberpuppy 1d ago

I have IBS and gas can sometimes feel like kicks and first my thought is “am I pregnant?”.

1

u/accidentalscientist_ 1d ago

I recently actually took a pregnancy test a few months ago because of gas! It felt how my sister described her baby kicks/movements.

Not pregnant. Just gassy.

1

u/ChocolateAxis 1d ago

Damn I was just half joking but had no idea you really could feel it to that extent. Sorry to hear it!

2

u/nkdeck07 1d ago

To be fair I once absolutely panicked myself because I was having some sort of digestive trouble that felt exactly like when my two babies kicked. If you've never been pregnant before I could see writing it off

1

u/MsCardeno 1d ago

I had a friend who went to the doctor and her test came back negative so they told her she wasn’t pregnant. She went into labor 2 months later. She didn’t know bc the doctors literally told her she was fine. Maybe they mixed up her paperwork? Or maybe she was just saying she went to the doctor? But I don’t see why she’d lie.

1

u/Epic_Brunch 1d ago

My son had an anterior placenta and for the entire nine months I could only feel very light kicks. It would be easy to pass off as gas bubbles if I didn't already know I was pregnant and what to look for. 

1

u/RoughBenefit9325 1d ago

I am having weird uterus flutters right now! But I doubt pregnancy cause my partner had a vasectomy.

-3

u/thelumpur 1d ago

I mean, there's a more revealing factor than stomach problems. After a month and a half maximum it should become pretty clear to a woman that she is pregnant, shouldn't it?

4

u/Chaywood 1d ago

Because they're tired? They just think they're tired. Not everyone has severe symptoms, I never did

-1

u/thelumpur 1d ago

I was referring to the period. It can be irregular for many, but after 8 months I think most would be asking questions.

EDIT: Of course you have direct experience and you are more qualified than me to talk about this. I'm going off the experience of my close relatives instead.

2

u/Chaywood 1d ago

Ah ok yeah I personally have super irregular periods but usually after 3 months I do take a test just to be sure!

2

u/lunalovesspace 1d ago

I haven’t had mine in 2 years because of my birth control. If it fails and I end up pregnant, I wouldn’t think that my lack of menstruation was because I might be pregnant.

1

u/thelumpur 1d ago

Fair point.

5

u/TheDustOfMen 1d ago

Why, exactly? Periods can be irregular.

0

u/newbrevity 1d ago

IBS and colon cancer are bigger with millennials and younger than any other generation ever. Likely due to diets full of heavily processed foods. Odds are pretty high that if you haven't curated a healthy diet, you probably have some kind of abdominal discomfort from time to time.

22

u/SibylUnrest 1d ago

It happens more than you'd expect. If I remember correctly it's called a cryptic pregnancy.

Sometimes they thought they had food poisoning, sometimes they continued having spotting bleeding that they thought were their periods, etc.

8

u/AyCarambin0 1d ago edited 1d ago

Many people have next to no self awareness or feelings of their body. Also, selective perception, people only see what they wanna see. If being pregnant is not in the range of possibilities, everything gets curbed to fit what ever you think is right. This is also why social media works so well...

1

u/jmac94wp 1d ago

Denial can be a factor too. In my husband’s family there was a young woman who was terrified that she might have gotten pregnant, so she pretended to herself that she didn’t know. She put on twenty pounds, had a definite bump, but kept squeezing herself into her usual jeans etc. Her family teased her about getting fat, they didn’t suspect. When she went into labor, she started crying and said to her mom that she wasn’t pregnant. She was soon proved wrong.

9

u/GameboyAU 1d ago

A friend form college had a baby when she went to the bathroom. Didn’t know she was pregnant. She was fit with abs .

3

u/QueenTiti_Mua 1d ago

That’s supper weird like where does the baby go is it flat

11

u/jenowl 1d ago

I'm a prime candidate for a cryptic pregnancy. I have an IUD but got pregnant on it once. Hadn't had a period in 8 years at that point. I have a retroflexed uterus, meaning instead of pushing forward, causing a baby bump, mine pushes towards my spine. Any pregnancy would develop into my rib cage causing little to no bump

2

u/RazzBeryllium 1d ago

Yep - this is what it is.

I have one (have never been pregnant) and my sister has one. Her pregnancy was planned and wanted, and she was actually quite depressed about never getting the cute baby bump.

She was kind of in denial and would buy maternity dresses to wear around hoping to emphasize her stomach, but looked ridiculous in them. Like a formerly-fat person wearing the clothes they bought before losing all the weight. (I never had the heart to tell her this).

She just got a bit thicker around the middle, but never had the bump.

2

u/quequequeee 1d ago

I don’t know, I find this ridiculous because if you’re having unprotected sex, there’s always a big chance of pregnancy. I use protection and I still take a pregnancy test a few weeks and just to be safe. LMAO. So I find it ridiculous that people don’t check on themselves. 

1

u/SingerSea4998 1d ago

For all the talk about womens reproductive rights, feminism and early sex education it really never ceases to amaze me how out of touch and uneducated western women are re our own bodies and reproductive cycles. 

My attitude is, if you are born with this immense superpower to create and sustain human life for 9 months....you ought to keep track of that power in a responsible way.  Like a pack of cheapo basic ovulation strips are like 100 of them for $30 on Amazon. 

I tested to pinpoint my ovulation/ LH surge just out of nerdy curiosity. Teaching my daughters how to do the same and to record their periods in an app. Like come on ladies. 

I get "irregular cycles" but after 6 months of no period, or even  "light spotting"  thats not normal, PCOS or not. 

Like, FFS make an appointment with your gyno/obgyn just to check in. 

So the whole "not knowing" your pregnant until the baby is basically crowning is a stunning lack of self awareness and bodily autonomy imo

1

u/quequequeee 19h ago

Right. I’m a woman & Idgi. In none of these stories [that involve consent] does anyone mention “I took a test” or “I was told I’m infertile” NOPE. people just let people pull out or cum in them without wondering HMMMM MAYBE I GOT PREGNANT LMAO. Even the man who did it should be asking you if you’re pregnant lmao. My period is so irregular & I use condoms with my committed partner. But I still take a test to make sure. 

& I’ve met ignorant ppl: spend $500 on shoes but god forbid I use that money on my reproductive health. Or tell me birth control pills are bad because it makes you fat, yet they have unprotected sex with strangers as if pregnancy doesn’t make you fat…or that stds don’t exist. 

1

u/Careful-Combination7 1d ago

Some people are just good at holding kids

1

u/komatiitic 1d ago

I know one person who found out 7 months in. My mother knew another who found out when she went to the ER for abdominal pain and was in labour. In the first case competitive athlete for whom irregular periods were pretty normal. Second case was a person who was extremely obese, also had extremely irregular periods, and didn’t really think much of the weight gain. Both said in hindsight there were some other clues, but they could pretty easily explain them with other things going on in their life.

1

u/SingerSea4998 1d ago

Right, but NINE MONTHS of no period is not normal PCOS oor not. 

IMO after month 6, she should have been immediate booked to see a gyno/obgyn just to make sure everything is ok and caught it there. 

1

u/meepein 1d ago

We didn't know until 17 weeks in. My wife has chronic IBS, so stomach issues are a constant thing. When her latest IBS flair up wouldn't go away, sh decided to see her doc, but knowing what the first question she would be asked is if she was preggo, she took a test.

And she was preggo. When we went to the ultrasound, the technician was like 'oh, you're really pregnant', which both my wife and I thought could mean more than 1 kid. Nope, she was just pretty much halfway through, only 1 kid thankfully.

1

u/Cadbury_fish_egg 1d ago

Yeah like wouldn’t they think it was weird that they weren’t menstruating

1

u/hisweetz 1d ago

pregnancy looks different for everyone. my friend was on medication for migraines that suppressed her periods. Another friend always had irregular periods to begin with. Humans are complex and our bodies are different.

1

u/TheSilentBaker 1d ago

Some people don’t show, never have any symptoms, still have regular periods, and depending on the positioning of the placenta they may never feel the baby move. It’s not common, but it can happen

1

u/SingerSea4998 1d ago

You cannot have regular periods while pregnant. That's a commonly repeated talking points, but aside from the .00001 of the population that manages to ovulate again after the first egg fertilizes, you cannot menstruate and be pregnant at the same time. 

The "spotting" could potentially be attributed to subchorionic hematoma (meaning a pooling of blood havinb formed on a uterine wall during pregnancy which typically heals itself within the first few weeks or months)

1

u/TheSilentBaker 18h ago

The wording may have been wrong. Yes, women can’t have regular periods, but some women still get bleeding and it can be fairly regular. For someone who has irregular periods or lighter flows this may be expected. Or alternatively they may take their birth control continuously and didn’t have periods while on it anyway so they were unaware of the pregnancy

1

u/followed2manycatsubs 1d ago

My period was irregular until I had my son. There were times I didn't get more than 1-2 periods a year. I was told I couldn't have children either. didn't find out I was pregnant until I was almost 6 months. No symptoms, flat belly, no weight gain and I'm very petite as is. I took two pregnancy tests at around 3ish months of being unknowingly pregnant and BOTH came out negative thought I was in the clear. It wasn't until I had a blood test done at a routine check up that I found out I was pregnant.

It happens, I lived a very fast paced lifestyle prior to having my son and thought nothing of it since I felt completely normal.

1

u/Doomsday40 1d ago

This happened to my ex. Her uterus curved more towards her back so no bump. She suddenly had excruciating back pain and went to hospital where they told her she's going into labour

1

u/tumericjesus 1d ago

Because women’s pain is often ignored in a medical setting maybe they always had stomach issues/aches etc didn’t taken seriously and just lived with it also irregular/no periods (this can happen to women who are underweight or really into fitness) many factors probably contribute to this.

1

u/gomurifle 20h ago

They are fat. Happened to a friend of mine. She didn't know untill lafter four months in.