The denial of pregnancy concerns between 800 and 2000 French women each year. For a more or less long period, the woman is completely unaware that she is pregnant. What are the causes of this mysterious phenomenon of the body?
The trial of Maria-Rosa Da Cruz, mother of little Séréna, found in the trunk of a car at the age of 2 in October 2013 will start this Monday, November 12 in assizes and will take place for two weeks at the Palais de Justice of Tulle.
On the evening of November 24, 2011, Maria-Rosa Cruz, already a mother of three, gave birth at home alone, without telling anyone. She then installed her daughter in a room in the house “where no one ever went”, she confided to our colleagues from the show Sept à Huit.
For two years, Maria-Rosa Cruz took care of the baby in the greatest secrecy. But on October 23, 2013, the child was found in the trunk of a car, in questionable hygiene and food conditions.
If the story may seem incredible, Me Chrystèle Chassagne-Deplech, Maria-Rosa Cruz’s lawyer, invokes an equally astonishing, but very real phenomenon: the denial of pregnancy. “We are in denial since this woman was not aware of her state of pregnancy, of childbirth either. She did not make the choice to keep this child or not to keep her. She has not made the choice of what happens to him“, she explains to our colleagues from France 3.
What is pregnancy denial?
In France, between 800 and 2000 women are victims of pregnancy denial each year. As the term suggests, denial of pregnancy refers to a woman who is unaware that she is pregnant. This state is all the more difficult to detect as the body continues to function “normally”: no common pregnancy-related symptoms such as interrupted menstruation or morning sickness occur.
The fetus grows, but the belly does not grow. At least not until the woman is aware of his condition. Belly punches given by the baby will therefore often be mistaken for stomach cramps. As surprising as this phenomenon may seem, it remains very difficult to recognize for the reasons explained above. So much so that the entourage of the woman concerned generally does not realize anything, including the partner.
How long ?
Each denial of pregnancy takes place in a specific way, so there is no established average duration for a denial of pregnancy. The woman may not know that she is pregnant but discover it before the first trimester of pregnancy (this is called partial denial of pregnancy). But in other cases, the denial of pregnancy lasts nine months, until the day of the birth of the child. This is called total denial of pregnancy. Some women therefore give birth literally overnight and only have a few hours to prepare for the arrival of their child and realize that they are going to become mothers.
When the victim is not surrounded at the time of childbirth (some women give birth alone at home as was the case for Maria-Rosa Da Cruz), this very violent emotional shock can result in the drama of a neonaticide . This term is used to designate the death of the child within 24 hours of birth, a dramatic outcome that most often occurs by accident or lack of care. It is estimated that neonaticide affects 10% of pregnancy denial outcomes.
“The sometimes dramatic deliveries where the woman is left to herself with the pains of childbirth, and the child can die from the conditions of its birth”, explains to the press agency Relaxnews, Sophie Marinopoulos, author of ” They give birth but are not pregnant – The denial of pregnancy” (2011).
What are the causes of pregnancy denial?
Classified among the disorders of psychic gestation, the denial of pregnancy remains a mysterious phenomenon of medicine still poorly understood. However, the women who are victims of it meet particular criteria which can make it possible to emit tracks on the possible causes of a denial of pregnancy.
“Long before the denial of pregnancy, there is a denial of affective life, often a denial of the body, a body that is not well treated, malnourished. They often have problems of overweight, a forgotten psychic body, depressive tendencies”, develops Sophie Marinopoulous.
Fear or uncertainty of conceiving a child and/or becoming pregnant, unresolved conflicting family history, sexual trauma or a complicated relationship with one’s own body may be some of the reasons that lead to pregnancy denial.
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