I think a lot of people know the show I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant on Discovery Woman, but even before it aired I had already witnessed a case and I had already heard of one in the family. Well, the first story I know of—and I’ve known it since I was little—was about an aunt, back in the 1970s, who didn’t know she was pregnant. She was already going through menopause, and back then, resources were much more limited compared to today. One day she was diagnosed with a uterine fibroid and started treatment, but she kept showing symptoms of pregnancy. She didn’t believe she could be pregnant since, medically speaking, it was impossible at her age and because she was supposedly already menopausal. She only found out about the pregnancy after seven months.

The most impressive case of someone not knowing they were pregnant that I witnessed happened at the maternity ward where Joana was born. A young woman arrived at the ER of the maternity ward complaining of severe kidney pain, and was taken to the emergency room. There, the doctor ordered an X-ray because he suspected kidney stones. The exam was done, and when the film was developed, the X-ray technician was in for quite a shock! She was pregnant and the baby was already engaged.

The pain she was feeling was labor pain, and she was already crowning! She gave birth that same day, I think about three hours later. She told me her story since we shared a room, and the commotion and buzz around her case made the maternity room a very busy place—everyone wanted to see the full-term baby born weighing over 3400, whose mother had no idea she was pregnant. This mom was scared because she had not been careful during the pregnancy and had taken several medications. She also said she had been going to the gym throughout her pregnancy. She exposed herself to all sorts of risks without realizing there could be a baby inside. The biggest concern was the lack of prenatal care, but the baby was born healthy and doing very well.

She said she was having regular periods and that her youngest daughter was still nursing every day. There was a rush to get baby clothes ready and her family was completely surprised, since no one knew. Her husband was stunned, but still welcomed the baby with all his heart. The X-ray technician came to the room several times and brought the X-ray film—I couldn’t believe it, so I asked to see it myself. He also said in all his years working, he had never seen anything like it. In fact, he asked to keep the film to use as an example for his X-ray technician course students.

Another very controversial case of not knowing she was pregnant happened in 2007: a young woman gave birth during a flight. Giovanna, 20, was recovering from a gastric reduction surgery and was on her way to the hospital for emergency surgery because of suspected bleeding caused by the procedure. On board and in the air, she began experiencing severe pain and said that “something” was coming out of her. At the time, this was widely reported in the media and I found this article on the Terra website.

Cases of women discovering pregnancy late, at six or seven months, are also common. I’ve read some stories, including some in this video from the show Papo de Mãe, which talked about the topic recently, and I thought it was worth sharing here too.

But you might ask yourself, how is that possible? Pregnant women look different, have larger breasts, their belly grows, and you can feel the baby moving… How could she not know? I still ask myself the same question—how did she not notice she was pregnant? I came to terms with it after watching I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, but I’m still amazed by some of these incredible cases. Some women notice the signs of pregnancy, but they either miss them because they’re inexperienced or ignore them, sometimes even in denial, which is one of the reasons these cases happen.

So, do you know anyone who didn’t know she was pregnant? Any stories of a surprise birth? Share in the comments—I love reading these stories and I’m sure it’s a really hot topic!

See also: How to announce your pregnancy to the family

Photo: Ju Blasina