Some pregnancies are planned, and some pregnancies are unplanned, but few pregnancies go unnoticed. Not so cryptic (or “stealth”) pregnancies, which describe what happens when a woman goes through the bulk (or even all!) of a pregnancy without suspecting.
Psychological factors
Cryptic pregnancies have been linked to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, depression or personality disorder, but only in a small number of cases, and the evidence isn’t strong enough to prove these have anything to do with it. They have been more strongly linked with past traumas, especially child sexual abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence, and with fear of pregnancy, which appears in the majority of reported cases.
Sociological factors
In many examples of cryptic pregnancy, the women involved did at some point think they might be pregnant, but their circumstances were so unsuitable that they denied the possibility. Correspondingly, cryptic pregnancies often happen to soldiers or women with perilous home lives. This is known as somatic denial.
Biological factors
However, many scientists think that cryptic pregnancy is biological rather than psychological or sociological.
How does that even happen?
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| Pregnant woman via Pixabay. |
Cryptic pregnancies have been linked to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, depression or personality disorder, but only in a small number of cases, and the evidence isn’t strong enough to prove these have anything to do with it. They have been more strongly linked with past traumas, especially child sexual abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence, and with fear of pregnancy, which appears in the majority of reported cases.
Sociological factors
In many examples of cryptic pregnancy, the women involved did at some point think they might be pregnant, but their circumstances were so unsuitable that they denied the possibility. Correspondingly, cryptic pregnancies often happen to soldiers or women with perilous home lives. This is known as somatic denial.
Biological factors
However, many scientists think that cryptic pregnancy is biological rather than psychological or sociological.
