Cryptic Pregnancy: Symptoms, Causes, Risks, And Post-Care

When I first heard about Cryptic Pregnancy, I was shocked, least to say. As a mother of three, and as someone who has dealt with the bitter-sweet bliss of pregnancy, it’s quite bewildering to believe “Pregnancy can go unnoticed.”

And not just “unnoticed,” in some cases, unnoticed to the point where your body only alerts you of it at the time of labor.

A pregnancy without a baby bump? The information is difficult to digest, isn’t it? Well, cryptic pregnancy is full of surprises, all pun intended.

But before we delve into the many questions that surround cryptic pregnancy, let me tell you, cryptic pregnancy is rare.

They occur in about 1 in 400-500 pregnancies, and only 1 in 2500 women may not realize they are pregnant until they go into labor.

Despite how rare cryptic pregnancy may be, it’s best to have all the intel you can to avoid the risks it might bring for the mother and the baby.

This article will cover:

What is a cryptic pregnancy?
How Can A Pregnancy Go Unnoticed?
What Are The Early Signs Of Cryptic Pregnancy?
How do you detect a cryptic pregnancy?
Who’s At A High Risk Of Cryptic Pregnancy?
Cryptic Pregnancy Risk Concerns
Cryptic Pregnancy Management And Care
FAQs

This article will provide all the necessary information regarding cryptic pregnancy without leaving a single stone unturned.

What Is A Cryptic Pregnancy?

As the name suggests, cryptic pregnancy is a situation where a woman is oblivious to the fact that she is, in fact, pregnant.

It’s also known as stealth pregnancy or “hidden pregnancy” in easier words.

Usually, this unawareness can continue up until 4-5 months. In rare cases (1 in 2500), mothers may never realize they are pregnant until labor begins.

A normal pregnancy comes with multiple symptoms from the very start. Morning sickness, nausea, food aversion, and “missing your periods” are common. Well, it’s not so common in cryptic pregnancies, unfortunately.

Cryptic pregnancies can easily skip these basic symptoms, and there can be a variety of reasons behind this! And yes, you might continue to “false bleed” in cryptic pregnancy. (We’ll discuss soon enough)

Typical symptoms of pregnancy are either absent, minimal, or easily mistaken for other conditions.

How Can A Pregnancy Go Unnoticed?

In some cases, even the ultrasound might not show any results of the perceived pregnancy.

Please note: All the possibilities here are extremely rare and uncommon. It makes us wonder, are cryptic pregnancies real? Yes, they are, but they are just uncommon.

Another key point to remember is the fact not every cryptic pregnancy would have all these highlights.

Why does a cryptic pregnancy go unnoticed? Below are all the reasons!

1. Mild Or Absent Symptoms

One of the initial symptoms of early pregnancies are morning sickness, food aversions, and weight gain. In cryptic pregnancy, some women don’t experience these classic signs.

When these hallmark signs are absent, the first month goes unnoticed.

2. Misattributed Mood Swings

Pregnancy is often backed by heavy hormonal changes that result in mood swings. The stress and mood swings that do occur with pregnancy might be attributed to other causes/factors or illnesses.

If you are prone to heavy mood swings, you might consider pregnancy mood changes to be your regular mood swings or stress from work, relationships, or other personal issues.

Conditions like hormonal imbalances or gastrointestinal issues can cause symptoms similar to those of pregnancy.

3. Continued Bleeding Post Pregnancy

Please note: Post-pregnancy bleeding isn’t the same as your regular periods.

This bleeding is often decidual bleeding, implantation bleeding, spotty bleeding, or misinterpreted bleeding.

– Decidual bleeding: In decidual bleeding, part of the uterine lining sheds during pregnancy, leading to bleeding that resembles a period.

Decidual bleeding mostly occurs at the start of pregnancy, but can also occur throughout pregnancy.

– Implantation bleeding: Early in pregnancy, some women have light spotting due to embryo implanting in the uterine lining.

Implantation bleeding may occur about 6-12 days after conception, precisely the time when the fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine lining.

– Spotting/light bleeding: Light bleeding refers to any mild or light vaginal bleeding that occurs outside of a woman’s regular menstrual cycle.

Hormonal fluctuations, contraceptive use, stress, or minor injuries to the vaginal walls are the common causes of light bleeding.

This “false period” makes the pregnancy go unnoticed for the coming 2nd and 3rd months. It might keep you under illusion even further if you randomly get spotting bleeding post-fourth or 5th month.

4. Irregular Menstrual Cycle/PCOS— Misinterpretation!

Cryptic pregnancy with periods? Is it possible?

If you are prone to irregular menstrual cycles, it’s easy to overlook a skipped period, especially if your cycle has always been unpredictable.

In such cases, missing a period might not immediately raise alarm about a potential pregnancy.

It’s alright if you are late by a few days (even a week), but if your due date passes the given threshold, it’s best to book an appointment with your gynecologist.

Causes of Irregular menstrual cycle:

– Stress: High-stress levels can affect the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates your period, leading to irregular cycles.

If you are dealing with constant stress that has been accompanying you for a long time now, book a therapy session. Continued stress is not good for your overall well-being.

– weight fluctuations: Significant weight loss or gain can disrupt the menstrual cycle.

– Thyroid disorders: Both hypothyroidism (not enough thyroid hormone) and hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid hormone) can cause irregular periods.

– Improper diet: An insufficient diet will lead to delayed periods. Please, eas

– PCOS: If you have irregular periods, please get yourself checked for PCOS.

Related Article: Why To Avoid Bananas During Pregnancy?

PCOS

Full form: Polycystic ovary syndrome.

PCOS is a common hormonal disorder that affects 5-13% of women of reproductive age. It entails hormonal imbalance, irregular menstrual cycles, insulin resistance, and polycystic ovaries.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is not inherently dangerous, but it can lead to several health concerns if you don’t take the appropriate majors to manage it.

When unmanaged, PCOS can lead to infertility, Type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, endometrial cancer, and Sleep Apnea.

Because PCOS is backed by weight gain and constant health issues, it may also affect your mental health and body image.

PCOS can be managed with a healthy diet, regular exercise, and weight loss, but that’s the basis. You will also need an apt medication for the problems it brings.

Medication for irregular periods: Birth control pills and progestin therapy.
Medication for insulin resistance: Metformin
Medication for Hair Growth & Acne: Anti-androgen medications and topical creams.
For ovulation and fertility: Clomiphene, letrozole, gonadotropins, IVF.
Regular monitoring to aid additional conditions.

If you are worried about “poly cysts” in your ovaries, don’t worry! The cysts are generally not harmful and will not require removal. Proper checkups are still needed to ensure there are no chances of harm.

5. No Visible Weight Gain

In cryptic pregnancy, weight gain is not as pronounced as it is in a normal pregnancy. The subtle changes may go completely unnoticed, especially if you are used to weight fluctuation.

Please note: Low weight gain will affect the fetus growing inside the body. That’s why, it’s important to detect Cryptic pregnancy early on. How to do that? We’ll discuss it soon enough.

6. Negative Pregnancy Test

Do cryptic pregnancies show up on pregnancy tests?

No, cryptic pregnancies don’t show a positive result in the initial weeks (1st month/4-7 weeks) of gestation. However, there’s a high chance that you will get positive results after 8-12 weeks of cryptic pregnancy.

Unnoticed pregnancy symptoms are still alright, but cryptic pregnancy does give you false negative pregnancy tests.

The major reason for a negative pregnancy test is low hCG during cryptic pregnancy. hCG stands for human chrionic gonadotropin; a hormone produced by the placenta shortly after implantation.

A positive pregnancy test works on the high increase in hCG that’s expected in any normal pregnancy. A lack or insufficient rise of hCG can lead to a negative pregnancy test.

So, the initial weeks may not give you a positive cryptic pregnancy test.

As the pregnancy progresses, the hCG will also increase although slower than a normal pregnancy. This is the reason why you may get a positive pregnancy test during 8-12 months.

7. No Baby Bump

This particular instance is the most bewildering one amongst all the other reasons. “No Baby Bump” in cryptic pregnancy may happen due to the following reasons.

Cryptic Pregnancy Bump, and Why it’s Not Noticeable:

– No or subtle weight gain:

It’s alright if the “gained weight” goes unnoticed due to a bigger body. However, if you are genuinely not gaining weight, it can affect the baby’s growth, resulting in low birth weight and a smaller fetus.

– Unnoticed Weight Gain

Strong abs/bigger body type: Women with strong abdominal muscles might experience less outward growth. Their muscles hold the uterus tightly against the spine. The baby bump becomes even less prominent when the fetal position doesn’t push outward.

– Position of the fetus:

Can the position of the fetus really make the baby bump invisible? The answer isn’t ‘invisible’ but rather ‘less noticeable.’

Retroverted uterus, low fetal position, and posterior positioning are the common positions that make the bump less visible. And yes, it works in small-sized women, too.

Retroverted (tilting backward) position: When the uterus is positioned backward, it expands more towards the back and into the pelvis rather than pushing outward against the abdominal wall.

Low fetal position: It’s more concentrated in the lower abdomen, and might be mistaken for bloating rather than pregnancy.

Posterior Positioning: The fetus is positioned close to the spine. This usually happens in women with strong abdominal muscles.

Please note: Fetus’s position can make the bump less visible early on, but it’s rather difficult to go unnoticed as the pregnancy progresses. However, in some rare cases, even later-stage fetal positioning might keep the bump less obvious.

Cryptic Pregnancy Symptoms: Hidden Pregnancy Signs

It’s difficult to predict cryptic pregnancy since most of the normal pregnancy symptoms are well hidden.

Remember, they might not be present in full swing, but subtle hidden pregnancy signs can be detected upon keen notice. As I said, not all causes will be available in a single pregnancy.

– Keep track of your menstrual cycle: Are you ovulating and menstruating timely?

– Mark the date of conception, so you can predict the connection between these sudden (subtle) changes in your behavior to the gestation period.

– Be alert when you pass the one-month threshold, that’s when most symptoms occur. Look for fatigue, morning sickness, nausea, food aversion, etc.

– Understand your periods: Is the bleeding normal, or do you see any changes? Is it surprisingly light and doesn’t fall under your date? It might be false bleeding.

– Use a sensitive pregnancy test instead of a normal in-home pregnancy test. A sensitive pregnancy test will give you a positive result early in the morning.

– Consult a specialist.

How To Detect A Cryptic Pregnancy?

It’s not impossible to detect cryptic pregnancy despite the lack of common pregnancy symptoms.

Alertness is the first step, but I understand, it can be hard to keep up with NO symptoms.

However, if you think there’s a sudden change (subtle but sudden) in your mood swings, food cravings (see if you are craving something sour or something you’d usually not eat), or weight, visit the gynecologist.

Monitor the symptoms and let your gynecologist know of all the details.

Repeat Pregnancy Testing

The initial week may not give you a positive pregnancy test result. However, continue to test once you pass the fourth week from conception.

As discussed, your hCG level will eventually rise (although more slowly than in normal pregnancy), but it will rise to become noticeable post-8th week of conception.

So, continue to test between 8th-12th week!

Also, it’s best to choose a highly sensitive home pregnancy test instead of your regular pregnancy test to have a higher chance of detection. Highly sensitive pregnancy tests are designed for early detection. They can detect lower levels of hCG, i.e., as low as 10-20 mIU/ml.

Blood Tests To Detect hCG

Blood tests are more accurate than urine tests when it comes to detecting low levels of hCG.

The first result may come out normal, i.e., low hCG. However, your doctor will suggest serial hCG measurement to track whether the said hormone is rising although slowly.

No matter how slow, a rise in hCG levels will confirm pregnancy.

Ultrasound Scan

If urine and blood pregnancy tests remain inconclusive, repeated ultrasound scans will determine pregnancy. I will suggest you skip the initial weeks, and try it at the 7th-8th weeks of pregnancy.

Transvaginal ultrasound is better than abdominal ultrasound given its potential to detect pregnancy early on, especially if hCG levels are low.

If an initial scan is also inconclusive, a follow-up scan after a few weeks will provide clearer results.

Who’s at a High Risk Of Cryptic Pregnancy?

Because of its rarity, there’s very little study to determine cryptic pregnancy and its true roots.

However, the most recent study conceptualizes “cryptic pregnancy as a pathological manifestation of unconscious conflict.”

Or in other words, an outcome (byproduct) of adaptive processes, where the conflict is about parental investment and its consequences on fitness.”

—Marco De Giudice, research submitted in Center of Cognitive Science, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Torino, Italy.

So, if you are someone who doesn’t want pregnancy, it’s best not to conceive or abort in the initial weeks to avoid complications for you and the child.

Women in denial

Women who are not mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared for a pregnancy, but are forced to keep the baby, are at risk of cryptic pregnancy.

The fear of a baby you are not ready for makes your body reject the baby or deny the pregnancy. It happens almost unconsciously because your body is more loyal to your well-being than the fetus.

Unfortunately, your body cannot completely dissolve pregnancy, so it tries to sabotage the pregnancy.

This usually happens due to age factors, financial concerns, mental health problems, or relationship issues. It’s best to be emotionally, mentally, and financially stable first then have a baby instead of the other way around.

Your life struggles and personal problems will affect the baby both physically and mentally. Premature babies or low birth weight are the initial problems. A baby will develop bigger mental issues if they are not loved or wanted wholeheartedly.

So, if you are not ready for a baby, don’t have a baby! It’s completely alright to choose yourself.
Related Article: Self-care For Moms Who Have No Time!

Women Who Have Recently Given Birth

Postpartum hormonal changes cause irregular periods or other symptoms that can mask a new pregnancy.

Women Who Are Menopausal

Women approaching menopause may mistake pregnancy symptoms for menopausal symptoms. They can feel similar.

Adolescent And Teenagers

Lack of awareness in young women or teenagers who are not given general sex education may skip pregnancy symptoms.

Depression

If a person is dealing with depression or other psychosis, they may be less aware of or in tune with their bodily changes.

Cryptic Pregnancy Risk Concerns

Cryptic pregnancy chances can raise several concerns for the mother and the unborn baby.

Because cryptic pregnancy comes unannounced and you are unaware of it for most of the part, it cuts down on the parental care and stress-free environment one requires during pregnancy.

1. Lack Of Parental Care.

Nutritional deficiencies: The biggest concern for any mother would be “nutritional deficiencies” for the baby. Without proper diet and exercise, the mother will weaken and the stress will increase.

The lack of prenatal vitamins, inadequate nutrition, and stress will affect the baby’s growth and development. This might result in a premature baby or low birth weight baby.

Related Article: Is Coffee Safe During Pregnancy?

Missed Screenings: An unaware mother might miss important parental screening and general check-ups. Usually, these screenings help detect potential issues like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, or fetal abnormalities early on.

2. Substance Exposure

If a woman is unaware of her pregnancy she may continue to consume alcohol, smoking, or other substances that can pass through the placenta and affect the developing baby.

Similarly, a medication that might be safe for non-pregnant women, may be unsafe for the fetus growing inside the body.

3. Increased Stress And Lack Of Preparation

A sudden discovery of pregnancy may shock the mother, especially if they weren’t expecting a baby or worse, not financially prepared for it.

This might put extra stress and pressure on the mother.

Overall, the lack of preparation will leave you stressed, confused, and vulnerable which is not healthy for you or your baby.

4. Increased Risk Of Preterm Birth

Without parental care, conditions leading to preterm labor might not be identified properly. It increases the livelihood of premature birth.

Premature babies may face respiratory distress, underdeveloped organs, and other health issues.

5. Low Birth Weight

Low birth weight can further complicate things for your newborn baby. It is often associated with high risks of infection, development delay, weak immune system, etc.

Cryptic Pregnancy Management & Care

Once you become aware of the pregnancy or have suspicions, schedule a doctor’s appointment immediately.

If you catch on to the symptoms early on, decide whether you are ready for the baby. If you are not, it’s best to terminate the pregnancy.

– However, if you wish to keep the baby, follow-up with regular check-ups is the first step.

– These check-ups will trace any underlying concerns towards you or the baby. Early diagnosis and care will eliminate any risk factors or complications.

– Prioritize your health: A healthy diet alone isn’t enough, you want to create an environment that heals you inside out, emotionally and mentally.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Still have questions? Here are all the answers to your queries!

1. How Common Is Cryptic Pregnancy?

It’s uncommon. How rare is cryptic pregnancy?
Cryptic pregnancies are rare. They occur in approximately 0.2% to 0.25% of all pregnancies. This translates to 1 in 400-500 pregnancies where the mother is unaware of it up until 4-5 months.
Other rare cases where a woman only finds out about pregnancy at the time of labor are 1 in 2500 pregnancies, i.e., 0.04.

2. Are Cryptic Pregnancies Real?

Although there’s not enough study and research on cryptic pregnancy, they are real!

3. Do Cryptic Pregnancies Show Up On Pregnancy Tests?

Cryptic pregnancies may not show on a regular in-home pregnancy test. The test will most likely read negative. However, a sensitive pregnancy test will catch up on the pregnancy even when the hCG levels are lower than what is expected from a normal pregnancy.

4. Do You Test Positive With A Cryptic Pregnancy?

Yes, but only when you use a sensitive pregnancy test.

5. How Long Can Pregnancy Hide Itself?

Mostly, a cryptic pregnancy will hide itself until 4-5 months unless you catch on the subtle symptoms. However, in some rare cases, a mother might not be aware of the pregnancy until she gets into labor.

There are enough case studies to back the truth behind both these instances. Many cases are recorded where the woman gets into the ER for abdominal pain and is shocked to know that it’s actually labor pain.

6. Can I Be Pregnant And Not Know It?

Yes, that’s cryptic pregnancy.

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