MANILA, Philippines - Amber Badua, a Filipina from California, gave birth while heading back to California from a Mexican cruise early this month.

Here's the catch, though -- she only knew she was pregnant a week before the trip.

The 30-year-old caregiver went into labor for 10 hours and gave birth in the cabin's bathroom. The event was certainly unplanned, considering that most women who are late into their pregnancy are not allowed to travel.

"I was really scared because I thought she was going to be stillborn. I'm just glad she's doing good considering everything -- no prenatal care, and the fact that she was born in the toilet. She's good, she's healthy," Badua told Steve Angeles of ABS-CBN's North America News Bureau.

Badua's family, including husband Robert Villalobos, also had no idea that she was having a baby that soon.

"I didn't think she was that far along. I was planning to be there at least," said Villalobos, who was at home in California when his wife gave birth.

Unaware

Women can get a lot of pregnancy symptoms, from the delayed menstruation to the swelling baby bump. Badua, however, didn't notice any of these until a week before she gave birth.

Is this really possible?

Yes, although it's purely incidental, according to Dr. Mila Zaragoza Ibay, former chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology department of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

She said this usually happens to women who have a history of irregular menstrual cycles since they tend to be insensitive to changes in their body.

It could be noted that Badua, who usually has a late period, felt stomach pains before giving birth in the cruise ship.

"It's a case of simply not knowing, of being insensitive to the changes in the body...Only a small percentage of women (in the Philippines) don't know that they're pregnant," Ibay told abs-cbnNEWS.com, not citing figures.

Ibay, who refused to call it a medical condition, said that a woman's insensitivity to her pregnancy is not hereditary. She said, however, that age, obesity and a busy lifestyle may be contributory.

"There's really no genetic explanation for this, it's an individual situation. There's no medication for it since it's only incidental," she said, adding, "Too much stress can contribute to this, or if a woman is obese, it may be harder for her to notice any bodily changes."

Asked how this can be "fixed," Ibay said: "It's all about awareness and patient education. Women should increase their awareness about their (menstrual) cycle. And they can always go to their doctor (if they start to feel anything different)."

Aside from menstrual irregularity, other common symptoms of pregnancy include tender breasts, morning sickness and weight gain.

False pregnancy?

If some women do not know that they're having a baby, others think they are pregnant when they really aren't.

Pseudocyesis refers to a medical condition where the affected patient is convinced that she is carrying a child.

According to Ibay, the mental disorder usually resembles the common signs of pregnancy except the presence of a fetus.

"It's a condition that refers to the 'feeling pregnant' in a woman. But there's really no pregnancy. It's more of a psychological impairment, so if this happens, we consult with a psychiatrist to help the patient," Ibay said.

Pseudocyesis, which can be traced to as early as the 1500s, is said to be caused by the intense desire to become pregnant, or a strong fear of carrying a child.

Mary Tudor, Queen of England, allegedly believed on more than one occasion that she was pregnant when she was not.

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Reference: Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders

For comments and suggestions, e-mail the author at karen_flores@abs-cbn.com.