A character in my book tries to hide the fact they are pregnant.

If you wanted to conceal a pregnancy how would you go about it and how long do you think you could you keep it up for before being found out? Would another woman sense what was going on? I’m pretty sure a man wouldn’t.

I think it depends on so many factors. Like what kind of lifestyle you had before pregnancy (ie. did you drink and smoke heavily and eat brie on the hour). And what kind of pregnancy you're having (lots of women are either really sick or heavily nauseous for the first 3 months, sometimes longer - and not just in the morning, that's tripe). And what shape you are usually - if a little overwweight you could disguise it for longer, I think. With my first I had no significant bump till 4.5 months; second's tend to show faster because you've been stretched that way before (esp if quite close together). Also depends on the relationship between the women. So you just need to get the set-up right. Maybe if you tell us more about it we can answer more specifically.

The woman's mid-twenties, non-smoking, average weight and quite attractive. She has a job in a nightclub but is not a big drinker, passive smoking may not be an issue as it will be banned shortly.

She joins an evangelical church and becomes pregnant by the pastor's son, has the baby and then commits suicide (sorry!).

At some stage she will stop going to the church because I'm guessing she can't physically hide it any longer. I'd like this as late as possible for the plot.

Either she confides in or an elderly lady in the church finds out she's pregnant, the latter might be more interesting.

Later the elderly lady tells the story to a male detective and here she'll have to explain how the girl concealed the pregnancy for so long.

So the woman's not got a big part I just wanted it to be a bit convincing.

By wearing baggy clothes - dresses, loose tops - a woman could hide it for several months: probably for 5 or 6. Although it partly depends what sort of shape she is. An overweight one might hide it better. People might be suspicious but she could excuse the weight gain as hormonal or bloating or just plain lack of exersise.
Standing around the school gate I can usually spot the pregnant mums at 3 months from the position of the 'bump' - it's easier to tell if they are wearing trousers.
Their shape changes in the second trimester to a more upright oval (egg) shape of abdomen, which can be mistaken for weight gain. In the 3rd trimester it's more obvious, especially when the bump changes shape like an egg lying on it's side and sticks out.
If the egg-shaped bump stays vertical they can get away with it for longer - I've known some very fit women with strong abdominal muscles who've hardly looked pregnant at 6-7 months because of that.
If you knew someone well it would be harder for them to disguise it and at some point friends would start asking, but you can't argue with a woman who denies it. And I know one mum who does suffer from bloating, and gets asked if she's pregnant on a fairly regular basis.
But the old adage applies: You can fool some of the people all or the time and all of the people some of the time, but eventually someone's going to ask.

- NaomiM

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I can imagine a little old lady asking the girl - especially if she seems upset. People would suspect but most would be too embarrassed to ask.

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Thinking about it in the light of your last post, Murphy, she could excuse the pregnancy as weight gain. But a change in her behaviour is more likely to make people suspicious - nausea, food cravings, more emotional, more forgetful, heart burn, etc.
If some beady-eyed, nosey old woman spotted all this, they might well ask when the baby's due, along with a couple of probing questions about the father.

My mother always used to swear she could tell women were pregnant simply by looking at their eyes. Maybe your old lady could have the same 'gift'?

As for hiding it, what the others said, but also, dark clothes, especially black, and floaty layers.

Zoe

I think there'a rleady been some really good feedback here, and I'd echo what others have said about baggy clothing (a friend of mine got away with it until about the 6-month mark)...but if you're desperate for the pregnancy to be hidden until the last minute, you might be encouraged by some of those wierder-than-fiction stories that crop up in the tabloids every few months. You know: "I didn't know I was pregnant until a baby dropped out when I went to the loo" kind of thing.

If fashion obliges, it's amazing what you can hide under those 'swing'-shaped jackets and tops. And yes, it depends so much on the woman - I had one very slim friend who never looked more than 6 months, even in labour, and if she'd worn loose clothes I think lots of people wouldn't ever have known.

Emma

I've noticed that tall women often tend to "show" less. I don't think it's at all implausible that she could keep it a secret right until the end - I went on maternity leave 10 days before my first baby was due, and there were people in my office who genuinely hadn't realised I was pregnant, partly because I was sat behind a desk all day, partly because I didn't get very big, partly becasue I didn't talk about the baby much, and partly because I just don't think people look at each other as closely as you might think!

A well-fitting pair of proper maternity jeans, plus one of these smock tops, and even a slim woman could probably hide it up to the end of the 5 month mark or even into 6 months plus.

Yes, 6 months with baggy jumpers, so make it winter!

Thanks for all the clothing tips. They all seem to fit the plot!

I looked like I had a basketball up my jumper from about two days after conception, even first time round. I remember hooting with derision when I read it doesn't really show until five or six months, but I suppose I might have been a bit unusual. I do agree that on people who carry a little weight, it can take longer (not that I'm some perfect specimen, I hasten to add!).

It's often the expanding boobs that show most as much or more than the actually tummy, except towards the end. If she doesn't get too sick and therefore keeps eating and her face gets a bit rounder, plus maybe wrists and ankles plumping out, lots of people would just assume she'd put on weight.

Emma

Agree with Scout; I'm quite tall and had hardly any discernable baby bump whatsoever when clothed and didn't need to buy any maternity outfits at all. I think everything but my very closest fitting jeans still fitted right up until my daughter was born. So it would be perfectly possible for no-one to observe your character's pregnancy. The constant need to go to the loo might give it away though!

(PS - my daughter is 18 years old now and I wish I still fitted into those clothes ;-))

I was a blimp. There was no way I would have got away with pretending not to be pregnant - although there were an awful lot of men who seemed blind to the bump inches away from their noses and refused to give up their seat on the Tube.