Silent Pregnancy: symptoms, why it happens (and risks)

Silent pregnancy is a pregnancy that is not felt or identified by the woman, and is generally discovered in the third trimester of pregnancy or even at the time of birth, being a rare situation that can occur mainly in women who have irregular menstruation or are overweight or obese.

This situation does not normally cause signs or symptoms of pregnancy and, when they exist, they can be ignored or associated with other conditions.

Silent pregnancy can be associated with risks for both the woman and the baby, as there is no adequate prenatal care to assess the health of both.

Silent pregnancy symptoms

In silent pregnancy, the woman does not present typical signs or symptoms of pregnancy and, when they do, they may go unnoticed, ignored or associated with other conditions.

Some symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, tiredness or excessive drowsiness and/or increased breast sensitivity are not specific to pregnancy and can be attributed to some situations such as PMS, diet, excessive exposure to the sun or problems sleeping.

Why does bleeding happen?

Vaginal bleeding that can occur during a silent pregnancy is often confused by women with menstruation, however, it can result from other factors, such as implantation, which consists of the implantation of the embryo in the uterus, which causes the rupture of blood vessels that form the coat, which can cause bleeding. As this period coincides with the days when menstruation would occur, the woman thinks that she is not pregnant.

Furthermore, as the pregnancy progresses, the uterus increases in size, which also contributes to the rupture of spider veins and bleeding, causing the woman to continue to believe that she is not pregnant.

Why doesn’t the belly appear?

Some women who have a silent pregnancy may never even have a protruding belly, which is the most obvious feature of pregnancy.

This can happen for several reasons, in women who have a long abdomen, where there is more space for the uterus to develop upwards and not outwards, which can give the impression of a smaller belly, in overweight women, whose belly can be confused, or in women with more worked muscles, where the belly may not be as prominent, and the baby may develop closer to the spine.

Furthermore, when the fetus is very small, you may not notice a big difference in the belly.

Main causes

The main causes of silent pregnancy are:

• Irregular menstruation: This type of menstruation can be caused by several causes, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, eating disorders, excessive physical activity, perimenopause or hormonal diseases;
• Fear of pregnancywhich can cause denial and attribute symptoms to other causes;
• Being in the lactation phaseas during this phase there is a lack of menstruation and it is normal for women to feel tired, sleepy and have back pain, so the symptoms can be attributed to other causes;
• Overweight and obesitywhich can cause changes in menstruation and, in cases of greater weight, it may not be possible to clearly feel fetal movements.

Furthermore, another possible cause is the use of contraceptives, such as pills and injections, which, despite being safe, present a minimal risk of failure, meaning that pregnancy can occur if sexual intercourse is not protected.

Risks of not noticing pregnancy

The fact that a woman does not know that she is pregnant means that there is no adequate prenatal care. Furthermore, the woman may continue to have habits that could be harmful to the baby, such as drinking alcohol, smoking or taking medications that are contraindicated during pregnancy.

It is also possible to have a lack of essential nutrients for good fetal development and growth, such as folic acid, for example. Understand the importance of folic acid in pregnancy.

Silent pregnancy also increases the risk of the woman having medical conditions such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, or the baby having some genetic change or health condition, which can put the lives of both the baby and the mother at risk.