My youngest patient when working maternity was a 15 yr old who lived at home with her family & didn’t tell them until she went into labor. She had confided in an older sibling who no longer lived at home & they kept her secret. I spent time talking with her during her stay, she told me she wore baggy clothing, like sweats & kept her hands in her pockets to conceal her tummy. They didn’t know she had a boyfriend so maybe it never occurred to them that she could’ve been pregnant. She was a tiny little thing & the baby was average size, full term. I’m not sure how she got away with it. I think sometimes parents don’t see what’s right under their nose bc they don’t want to deal with it. Don’t shoot, I’m a parent & grandparent, while my kids couldn’t have concealed a pregnancy I’m sure they did other things right under my nose too.
IDK if this pertains to Laken’s family or not. If she was my daughter I would’ve suspected she was pregnant & confronted her. If she denied it, what were they going to to do?
We have told our kids, anytime they are in trouble to call us, and we will help them. Well, our son got into a pretty sticky situation, and rather than talk to us, as we always encouraged, he just decided to leave. (Age 19)
Later, (a year), he said he thought we would be mad and disappointed. So he didn't want to deal with it. Well, the problem didn't just "go away". He finally did come home, tell us, we helped him dig out of the mess, which of course, had more consequences by that time.
I tell this story, because I wonder about young adults, and their thought process. Because, while the situation was far different, the way both dealt with it, was to just "ignore it". My son thought it would "go away" or something, if he didn't do anything.
Of course, being pregnant is different, but is the level of denial similar? We see so many young women on WS act in a similar manner. No judgement on the parents here from me, because I thought my kids would always come to us with anything. And they don't.