Katie Kropas, 23, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, had reported to the hospital because she had back pains, but wouldn’t believe it when she was told she was nine-months pregnant – and within one hour, she was delivered of a healthy 10 pound, 2 ounce baby girl.
Kropas never knew she was pregnant because she was on birth control pills and she still had her regular menses, and she attributed her slight weight gain to holiday eating and her 50 hour a week catering job.
When she learned that she was pregnant with a full-term baby, “At the time, I was like, this has got to be a joke, but I had no idea what to think. They told me that I had a full term baby, ready to come, now,” Kropas told a local news station. “So I found out at 10:15 and I had her at 11:06.”
Kropas plans to name her baby girl, Ellie, after her grandmother. Her boyfriend of two years, Dan Keefe, on learning of her pregnancy and delivery called Kropas’ mother, Karen, to inform her of the development, but the latter only thought he was kidding.
Kropas was excited that people at the hospital have been relating very kindly to her, “They just say ‘you were carrying around 10 extra pounds and didn’t know it?’” she said. “I don’t know why I didn’t know. I mean, I’m just excited and I appreciate everyone who is helping.”
According to Jena Pincott, a medical expert, “Quite simply, [women] do not know they’re pregnant because they have no symptoms — no weight gain, no nausea, and little to no abdominal swelling. They may still have their periods, or have always had irregular periods. If they have symptoms, they’re so subtle as to be easily mistaken for something else. Indigestion, perhaps.”
What happened to Kropas was unusual but not altogether rare according to medical experts – it is called “cryptic pregnancy” where a woman would be pregnant and not know it until she goes into labor.
Image Credits: Necn.
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