Montcalm County, Mich. (WZZM)- If you like surprises, imagine that of a Pierson woman who delivered a baby Wednesday morning and says she did not know she was pregnant.
During a 911 call the woman and her husband seemed to be in shock over what was happening.
Yes ma'am my wife is in the bathroom. She is bleeding all over the place. Uh, she thinks she's having a baby," the man said to dispatcher Angi Adams.
He told Adams his 27 year old wife already has 3 children and there were no real signs his wife was pregnant again. "Oh my God, how could you possibly be pregnant? You can hear his wife responding on the tape, "I don't know." Adams, playfully told the couple, "well surprise."
Talking to the dispatcher, the dad said, "You know we quit smoking and my wife put on a little bit of weight and I thought that's what it was."
The news has the whole community talking.
"You don't hear of people not knowing they are pregnant often. Maybe for the first couple of months but not all the way until the end and the baby is on it's way out," said Audrey Ellis, who lives near the couple's home.
Amber Collins, visibly pregnant, says she's due in 7 days and also wonders how it is possible not to know that you are carrying a baby.
"When I started feeling contractions and I was like 'whoa what is that? What's going on?' It feels really weird." she said.
Dr. Mary Beth Grey, an obstetrician with Metro Health Hospital, says it is very rare to hear of a case like this, but it's not unheard of.
"I've had two children so it does seem difficult to imagine how someone would not know they were pregnant but I think there are certain situations where it would be possible," she said.
Grey said those situations "would be, one, if someone was a little bit heavy and it would be hard to notice you belly getting a little bit bigger. And, two, I think it depends on what state the baby is born. A regular baby is born at 40 weeks. If the baby is born at 27 or 28 your belly doesn't protrude as much and the movement is more subtle. Also, if you have a placenta which is on the anterior portion of your uterus that does kind of blunt fetal movement."
She said many women, especially those who are overweight, do not have regular monthly menstrual cycles which is what most women use to determine if they are pregnant early on.
Grey says she's only has had one patient during her career who claimed went into labor claiming not to know she was pregnant.
It's rare. When I was a resident someone came in and was unaware. But, after talking to her she knew, but really wasn't willing to admit it," said Grey who had just performed a cercarian section on one of her patients.
"I just asked my patient who just had her fourth child and she didn't think it was possible. For whatever that's worth," she said and laughed. "Obviously I think there is some form of denial, maybe not every time, but sometimes with that situation."
By Angela Cunningham