Some women ‘concealing pregnancies’ out of fear

Some Irish women are concealing their pregnancies, for reasons including past experiences of abuse, fears over job security, and domestic violence.

Preliminary findings from the Kiss Study, shows that while the prevalence of concealed pregnancy in Ireland is no greater than in other countries, it is still a “contemporary phenomenon” and one in which more assistance and supports are needed to help those involved.

Midwife and public health nurse Sylvia Murphy Tighe, who is a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin, has had some findings from the study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing and will have complete findings by the end of this year.

As part of the research she has interviewed 28 women who have experience of concealed pregnancy and she stressed that women from all social backgrounds and ages can be involved, for different reasons.

“One reason why women are concealing is the fear,” she said.

“They experience this great fear, which is a paralysing fear which causes them to feel shut down and disconnected and so unable to receive assistance and support.”

She said this fear can they “tip them into avoidance coping strategies”.

As for the reason for that sense of fear in the first place, she said it can be for diverse reasons.

These would include situations were a woman is living with domestic violence or a coercive partner, circumstances where a woman has had a painful personal history, such as one involving sexual abuse.

Other situations include cases in which a woman is fearful of revealing a pregnancy for fear that she might not secure a job contract, if she is self employed, or fears over job security.

She also said that in many cases, women did not seek out assistance, but in cases where they did, they were more likely to ring the Samaritans, where they are assured confidentiality, rather than crisis pregnancy support numbers.

The findings from the research will be presented at a seminar today organised by the Bessborough Centre in Cork.