title: Concealed pregnancy: prevalence, perinatal measures and socio-demographics.
abstract: A target group of women who concealed their pregnancy (n = 43) was compared to an aged-matched control group (n = 30) that experienced a crisis pregnancy. Comparisons were also made with a larger dataset (n = 6363) of births in University Hospital Galway (UHG) (normative group). Data was analysed using the Chi-square test and the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff two-sample test. The number of women from the target group that were from a rural background was 28 (65%), compared to 10 (33%) from the control group. The number of women from the target group that feared a negative parental reaction to the pregnancy was 34 (79%), compared to 12 (40%) from the control group. The birth weight in the target group was 4009 lower than the normative birth weight. The average age of women who concealed was 8 years lower than the normative age. The prevalence of concealed pregnancy in UHG was one in every 148 births.
authors.affiliation: University College Hospital, Newcastle Rd, Co Galway. clarethynne@hotmail.com
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thynne
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gaffney
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tonge
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sherlock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D030881:Disclosure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult