21/10/2022
Cryptic pregnancy—All you need to know.
What is cryptic pregnancy?
Cryptic pregnancies happen very rarely. Research has shown that only around 1 in every 475 women will become pregnant and not know until they are past 20 weeks into their pregnancy. This number increases to 1 in 2500 women who don't know they are pregnant until they are giving birth.
Can you be pregnant and not know it?
The answer is yes, even if you have taken pregnancy tests and seen your doctor. Cryptic pregnancy is exactly what it sounds like — a seemingly mysterious pregnancy that goes unnoticed right up until labor begins.
Reasons why cryptic pregnancies occur?
Typically, cryptic pregnancies happen to people who have hormonal imbalances — either due to natural causes, hormonal birth control, or approaching perimenopause. However, the primary cause of a stealth pregnancy is hormones.
Psychological reasons why a person might have a cryptic pregnancy—If someone was recently pregnant or recently gave birth, it may take time before their hormones return to their regular cycles. During this time or as long as a person is breastfeeding, they may start ovulating without knowing it, which can result in a cryptic pregnancy.
Similarly, perimenopause can lead to irregular hormone cycles and cause a cryptic pregnancy. Even if someone is on birth control, there’s still a possibility that they can get pregnant if they’re having unprotected s*x. If they continue to take birth control while pregnant, they might not experience pregnancy symptoms and therefore have a cryptic pregnancy.
How is a negative test result possible?
The primary reason for a cryptic pregnancy is hormonal imbalance, but what hormone is going undetected? Getting a negative result on a pregnancy test despite being pregnant is likely caused by low hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) hormone levels (you can use our online hCG calculator to track your levels if you have the right information to hand).
