Belarusian Woman Released on December 13 Didn't Know She Was Pregnant: She Found Out About the Child in Her Fifth Month.
Belarusian Karіna spent 1 year and 2 months in detention. On December 13, she, along with a group of political prisoners, was taken out of Belarus – first to Ukraine, then to Poland, after which the woman moved to Germany. It was discovered after her release that she was pregnant. She is now in her fifth month and is expecting a son, writes the 'Pink Scarves' channel.
Photo: vecteezy.com
Karina recounts that during her imprisonment, she had no menstruation for almost a year. She attributed this to stress and health problems that began after her detention at Akrestsina.
“At the Akrestsina temporary detention center, I became severely hypothermic – I lay on the floor in just a T-shirt and thin trousers. It was the end of September, and there was no heating yet. Later, when I was taken from the pre-trial detention center to a doctor in the city, I was diagnosed with adnexitis – inflammation. That’s why I hadn’t had a period for almost a year, and I thought it was due to hypothermia and stress.”
In autumn 2025, the woman had a visit with her husband. A month later, Karina consulted a gynecologist at the pre-trial detention center. She was concerned about severe breast pain and a pulling sensation in her lower abdomen.
“I said that my breasts hurt so much that they were impossible to touch, and that my lower abdomen felt like my period was about to start, but it wasn't coming. This was my second pregnancy, and I understood that these could be its signs. I really asked for a test.”
They didn't give her a test, but sent her for an ultrasound.
“The doctor looked for a long time and said that based on the follicle, it was clear: menstruation would start in literally a couple of days.
She said I was 100 percent not pregnant and it was all due to stress.”
Karina recalls being upset then – it was hard for her to accept that her intuition had failed her.
“After the visit, I dreamt that I was fishing. I thought it was a sign of pregnancy, but decided I had simply worked myself up.”
A week later, she went to the doctor again: her period still hadn't started, and the breast pain persisted. She asked for a test again.
“They told me that my breasts hurt because of the vitamins I was taking, and the delay was due to stress. They prescribed a drug to normalize the cycle and told me to ask my relatives to send it in a medical parcel. I was assured that pregnancy would definitely have been visible on the ultrasound by then.”
After this, Karina stopped insisting. She found out about her pregnancy only after her release – in her fifth month.
“My belly started to swell. At first, I thought I had just gained weight specifically in my stomach. I also felt a pulsation – I even joked to my husband that it felt like my intestines were moving. I googled it, and it said that it could be an abdominal aortic pulsation and that I should see a doctor.”
Still, there was no menstruation, and Karina decided to buy homeopathic drops to restore her cycle. The instructions stated that if there was a delay, it was advisable to take a pregnancy test.
“I thought: well, who knows, maybe I got pregnant after I came to my husband in Germany.”
The test showed two lines. Karina was sure that the term was very short – two or three weeks. She made an appointment with a gynecologist.
“The doctor said that for such a term, it would be a vaginal ultrasound. But when she started looking, she suddenly said: 'No, the term is long. It's already the second trimester.'”
“I didn't feel joy then. I was very scared. Because during this time, there had been many stresses: during inventory work, I carried stones, and heavy bags. In the first trimester, I had the flu and bronchitis, and took medications that are not allowed for pregnant women. Plus constant stress and moves – Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Germany – all in a short time.”
During the examination, the doctor was silent for a long time.
“Those minutes were very frightening. And then she said: everything is fine. She showed me the heartbeat and let me listen to it. I asked several times if everything was really okay, and she assured me that it was.”
Karina says that the pregnancy itself was joyful news for her – she wanted a second child.
“The shock was specifically the term. And also resentment – that this was not seen on the ultrasound, or perhaps they didn't want to see it.”
Now she says she has drawn an important conclusion for herself:
“I clearly understood that you have to trust your intuition. Even a specialist can make a mistake. You have to listen to your body and its signs – and there were many of them.”
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