A consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, Abosede Lewu, has said cryptic pregnancy is a real medical condition but is often misunderstood and exploited by fraudsters.

The Chief Medical Director of ORB Women’s Clinic Lagos, said yesterday that cryptic pregnancy referred to a real pregnancy.

She explained that in such cases, a woman would be unaware of her condition until about five months into the pregnancy or beyond and in some cases, women only discovered they were pregnant when they went into labour.

“Cryptic pregnancy is a real pregnancy. The major difference between it and every other pregnancy is awareness. The woman is pregnant but does not know,” Lewu said.

According to her, cryptic pregnancy is more likely to occur in women with menstrual irregularities or those who have gone for long periods without seeing their menstruation.

She explained that women approaching menopause could also experience cryptic pregnancy, as their menstrual cycles may already be irregular, occurring once in three or six months.

“So, when they become pregnant, they may assume the symptoms they are having are just part of the changes associated with nearing menopause,” she said. Lewu added that breastfeeding women were also at risk, noting that many new mothers do not resume menstruation until they stop breastfeeding effectively.