Helen Green, a 45 -year -old mother from Bristol, did not imagine that her family vacation in Canada was going to upset her life. On May 21, while she was staying in Toronto with her husband Michael and their 6 -year -old daughter, she woke up in the middle of the night with what she thought she was simple abdominal pain … And a few hours later, she was holding a baby whose existence she was completely ignored.
A denial of pregnancy, after having two children
Around 1:45 a.m., sitting on the bathroom toilets in her hotel, she gave birth to a little girl.
“”I had no idea what was going on“She said, still in shock.”After two strong thrusts, a baby was born, so I lifted it from the toilet and took it in my arms“.
Her husband Michael, first convinced that crying came from the neighboring room, quickly realized that his wife had just experienced a denial of pregnancy. “”I was so stunned, we had trouble understanding what was going on“, He described.
Transported in an emergency with their baby, the family was unaware if the child was ultimately. Finally, the little girl, baptized Olivia, turned out to be in perfect health. “”It was an immense shock, and also a nice surprise. She came like that and we have the impression that she has always been with us “summed up Helen. Already a mother of an 18 -year -old son and a 6 -year -old girl, she had nevertheless made several miscarriages and led a regular sporting life, never suspected her pregnancy.
Understand the denial of pregnancy and its forms
The denial of pregnancy, a phenomenon still unknown, affects approximately one in 500 pregnancy in France. According to psychoanalyst Karine Denza, “The denial of pregnancy is an extremely powerful archaic defensive strategy against unconscious anxiety“The woman experiences a pregnancy without being aware of it, her body presenting none of the usual signs.
There are two forms: the total denialwhere the woman discovers her pregnancy only to childbirth, and denialrevealed later during pregnancy.
“She goes to the emergency room, in general because she has a very stomach ache, ignores that she is pregnant and learns it when she gives birth or barely a few hours before“, describes Karine Denza about total denial. As for partial denial, it concerns”Women who learn that they are pregnant between the 14ᵉ week of pregnancy (or 16th week of amenorrhea) and the term“.
Symptoms, causes and repercussions of the denial of pregnancy
One of the peculiarities is the absence of a visible belly or the pursuit of monthly rules. “It may seem improbable, but denial makes pregnancy truly invisible”confirms Karine Denza. “”It is a denial in the psychoanalytic sense, pregnancy is completely absent from the reality of the mother“The National College of Gynecologists estimates that the symptoms are” poorly identified “in 38 % of cases.
The phenomenon may concern all women and symptoms can be misleading: abdominal pain, fatigue, nausea or weight gain. “”The woman who makes a denial of pregnancy can suffer from stomach aches, abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue or weight gain, but she does not conceive it as signs of pregnancy “.
Dr. Lucie Joly, interviewed in a previous article, adds that “This phenomenon is explained by an alteration of communication between the body and the brain. External factors of course play an important role, such as those who induce emotional shock “.
What are the consequences of a denial of pregnancy?
As for the consequences, they are variable. According to Dr. Joly, “There is not really any study on the possible repercussions that denial can cause on the child or/and the mother (…) Once the denial is made, the patient’s management is very important. As the maternity process could not be done during pregnancy, the mother needs more than ever to be supported and accompanied. “
But despite the worries, “There are no more women who abandon their child at birth than in those who have experienced a classic pregnancy“She concludes.