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Dealing with a Cryptic Pregnancy

When Pregnancies Become Tough

By Tiffany DewPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Before I start my story, I want to start by saying that what I am about to reveal is true and fact. This is just my story.

We have all heard the stories on the news of a woman goes into labor, has a baby, but she didn't know that the was pregnant, and we have all asked ourselves how did she not know that she was pregnant? Well, there are many reasons for this, but this is not my story. My story is a little different than this situation. My situation is that I'm currently about 21 weeks pregnant with twins, however, I cannot be medically diagnosed as being pregnant for every test that I have taken comes back negative and getting an ultrasound is tough also, since the doctors will not order one since the tests are negative.

Let me put some things out here about me, first this is my first pregnancy, secondly I have had all of the symptoms for a woman being pregnant, and my stomach started bluging out when I was about 13 or 14 weeks. I have found other woman that are in the same situation as I am. A cryptic pregnancy affects 1 in 450 pregnancies. This situation can be frustrating as all the world goes, for your stomach is getting bigger, every test comes back negative, and getting the proper care is impossible. If you tell the doctor that you're pregnant and the test comes back negative, you are looked at as if you're either lying, wasting their time, or that you plain need psychological help, or you're probably fat.

Dealing with this type of pregnancy can make the woman feel alone and isolated. The reason for this feeling is that you can't be like other pregnant woman, who can show off a sonogram picture or say 'hey I'm due here.' Basically, you try to be happy when you notice something like baby movement, but deep down you can't exactly share it for when you say the tests have been negative and the other things, then people ask how do you know? Of course, my answer is I do and I have heard their heartbeats on a doppler that I had to purchase on my own and I have felt them.

The biggest take away from this is that women who are dealing with a cryptic pregnancy, have nowhere really to turn to, for you are dealing with this on your own. The support comes, but at the same time it is really not there. It's hard to talk about sometimes, its hard to go shopping and look at baby things for you hope that it is not a dream or that things might go wrong. Basically, the woman, such as myself, is doing all the prenatal care on their own. That meant that I started the prenatal vitamins on my own, listening to their heartbeats on my own, and measuring my stomach on my own. When dealing with a cryptic pregnancy, you are doing research and looking for any suggestions or tips on what to do, since no doctor is taking you seriously.

Sometimes with a cryptic pregnancy, they can go longer, like 2 or 3 or even 5 years. I'm truly hoping at this point this is not my case, for everything seems right on schedule. The other part about a cryptic pregnancy is really trying to explain it others without them thinking that you are crazy or that you are losing it. The last couple of months, since I have found out, has been the most frustrating thing. But I know that I have to keep my emotions in check, my stress in check, and at the same time look after, not only my well being, but my babies as well. Furthermore, I did not ask for this and no, I did not want a cryptic pregnancy. However, I have one and I am dealing with it the best that I can, even if it means that I won't be giving birth in a hospital.

I'm finding out, also, via research, that women who have one cryptic pregnancy will have another one in their lifetime and sometimes it runs in families. So here is the catch to my story, my sister, a couple of years ago, didn't find out that she was pregnant with my nephew until she was about 20 weeks along, but her pee test was negative and her blood test was positive only once during her pregnancy. Her pregnancy was also classified as a cryptic pregnancy. But my mom didn't have a cryptic pregnancy.

Here is my takeaway from all of this: every woman is different and every pregnancy is different and that should mean to the medical professionals that a cryptic pregnancy should be given the same care as a regular pregnancy. But it doesn't, for a cryptic pregnancy is not medically recognized. Furthermore, when a woman is dealing with a cryptic pregnancy and is trying to get answers and the doctors are not willing to help or they say I don't know what is going on when you ask, that probably means you are not a priority to them and that they have more important things to do. This adds to the frustration when you are trying to get help when you start getting contractions at 17 weeks and you are scared like any other pregnant woman. Let me just say on my note above, been there, done that, and no they were not giving out suckers for it either.

I mean, I'm learning a lot about pregnancy, but I'm not a doctor or a nurse, but with this situation you have to be both, plus your own advocate, which can be plain hard to do.

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About the Creator

Tiffany Dew

I live in Denver, CO where I write and working on my business. I also raise llamas and alpacas in Elizabeth, CO.

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