History Main / MistakenForPregnant

* A [[HighSchoolAU Gakuen]] [[Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia Hetalia]] fic involves the Bad Touch Trio discovering that Chun Yan is binding her breasts, looking stressed, and hanging around the counsellor's office a lot, and assume she's trying to conceal a pregnancy. Chun Yan, a.k.a. Yao, is ''actually'' trying to [[{{Transsexual}} transition to living as male]].

* This happens in Series/{{GilmoreGirls}}. Jackson is convinced that Sookie's mood swings and cravings are a sign that she's is pregnant. He finds out from Lorelai that Sookie decided to stop taking birth control and didn't tell Jackson, assuming that he had a vasectomy and that there was no chance of conceiving. Of course Jackson didn't get the vasectomy, but lied about it, and it turns out Sookie really is pregnant and is basically the last one to find out.

* In an episode of ''Series/Bewitched'', Louise suspects she is pregnant. She has told Samantha but no one else. Larry catches his wife and Samantha visiting the doctor together, draws the conclusion that Samantha is pregnant, and tells Darrin what he saw. Later as the four of them are having dinner together, when Louise broaches the subject, Larry kicks her under the table, then admonishes her that this is sensitive and personal information that Samantha should be the one to tell Darrin.

* In an episode of ''Series/Bewitched'', Louise suspects she is pregnant. She has told Samantha but no one else. Larry catches his wife and Samantha visiting the doctor together, draws the conclusion that Samantha is pregnant, and tells Darrin what he saw. Later as the four of them are having dinner together, when Louise broaches the subject, Larry kicks her under the table, then admonishes her that this is sensitive and personal information that Samantha should be the one to tell Darrin.
--> Samantha, excitedly: Darrin? Louise is going to have a baby!

----

** [[DontExplainTheJoke For the non-comedians, it is possible to politely ask someone if they would like your seat without speculating on whether they are pregnant or not.]]

* In an example of CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds, the end of ''MaisonIkkoku'' has Mitaka discover that "she" is pregnant. After a previous drunken night with Asuna he assumes that he got her pregnant, and vows to [[ShotgunWedding marry her to set things right]]. After he proposes and everything is set in stone, she decides on a dog's name for the new... puppy. Her dog had actually been the one knocked up by his dog.
* Keitaro had to deal with this in ''LoveHina'', when he and everyone else woke up to find Mutsumi sleeping naked in his futon with him. Mutsumi's comments about last night being great and the test being "positive" had even Keitaro himself thinking he knocked her up. Actually, she just fell through the hole in Naru's room, decided to sleep where she landed, and was referring to Keitaro's help in studying. When Keitaro expresses mild regret about the misunderstanding, of course, he's chased off by Naru (vowing to personally neuter him).

* In one story of ''PetShopOfHorrors: Tokyo'', a woman has cancer. When she tries to tell her boyfriend (who is drunk) about it, she gets as far as saying she went to the doctors, before he thinks she's pregnant and kicks her out, not wanting responsibility and angrily thinking it could be someone else's kid. He realizes his mistake when the doctor calls, and apologizes while promising to help pay for the treatment.

* In a commercial for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAkYuEH2uI0 Jamochas cafe]], this lady might have been MistakenForPregnant, but in actuality was just a GassHole.

* A [[HighSchoolAU Gakuen]] [[AxisPowersHetalia Hetalia]] fic involves the Bad Touch Trio discovering that Chun Yan is binding her breasts, looking stressed, and hanging around the counsellor's office a lot, and assume she's trying to conceal a pregnancy. Chun Yan, a.k.a. Yao, is ''actually'' trying to [[{{Transsexual}} transition to living as male]].

* In ''WhileYouWereSleeping'', Lucy is at one point mistaken for pregnant by the family who believe she's engaged to his comatose son (she isn't). This leads Jack, the man's brother, to announce this [[AWorldwidePunomenon misconception]] to all of her friends at a New Year's Eve party when he tries to [[OneDrinkWillKillTheBaby prevent her drinking an alcoholic beverage]]. Not surprisingly, Jack ends up with a lot of apologizing to do.

* In ''Film/TwoWeeksNotice'', George Wade commits this while interviewing a job candidate.
** And later in the movie they meet each other again. She remarks that ''now'' she's pregnant and he can congratulate her. George thinks that she's playing a trick on him, so he refuses to believe it. Thus she gets mad at him ''again.''
* ''NationalTreasure'': Upon seeing his son turn up in the middle of the night with a beautiful woman, Patrick asks, "Is she pregnant?"
* In ''GrownUps'', a pregnant character claims to be this when asked about her pregnancy. Cue momentary mortification from the asker. Of course, this only lasts thirty seconds to a minute, maximum.
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] on ''Film/{{Clueless}},'' where the somewhat geeky girl tutoring the protagonists keeps leaving to throw up. They assume she has an eating disorder; it turns out she's pregnant.
* "Large" Marge in ''HorribleBosses.''
* Played for laughs in ''IceAge: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs'', where Sid congratulates a rather round-looking beaver for having a baby. The beaver gets mad at him and snaps "I'm not pregnant!'' and wallops his head before leaving.

* In one of the ''HeraldsOfValdemar'' novels, a court fashion of elaborate and extremely heavy veils (Which required the ladies wearing them to walk while leaning backwards to support the weight on their heads) met an abrupt end when a man new to the court asked the two ladies who started the fad when their babies were due.

* Hal from ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'' does this to a prospective employer, rubbing her belly and playfully asking "Oh, and what have we ''heeeere?''" to which the woman replies in mocking singsong that it's her big, fat stomach. Not surprisingly, the scene quickly jump cuts to Hal's next job interview.
* ''ThreesCompany'' did MistakenForPregnant at least four times ("Will The Real Jack Tripper...," "Stanley's Hotline," "And Baby Makes Four," "Jack Be Quick,") plus one episode ("And Baby Makes Two") where Janet was mistaken for ''trying'' to get pregnant.

* Let's try to list all the times someone was MistakenForPregnant on ''SeventhHeaven'': Annie by Eric, when she was really starting menopause; Sarah and Matt by their parents, when her period was just late; Ruthie by many in her school; two of Simon's girlfriends/fiancées by, one-by-one, everyone...
* ''JoanOfArcadia'' included an episode where Helen has a positive return on a pregnancy test. However, Luke finds the test, believes it's Joan's, and spends most of the episode panicking about being an uncle. As with ''Friends'', unusual in that someone actually ''was'' pregnant (although the episode ends with Helen revealing she had her period that evening, indicating an early miscarriage).
** Or a false positive. They're fairly common.
* In ''{{Frasier}}'', Niles half-hears a conversation between Daphne and Frasier about the need to keep Roz's pregnancy a secret, and concludes that Daphne is pregnant and Frasier is the father. Things escalate from there until he challenges his brother to a duel for Daphne's honor.

* An episode of ''ILoveLucy'' had Lucy and Ethel convinced that Ricky and Fred were about to join the army. They decide to show their support by knitting socks; Ricky and Fred notice them knitting and assume that both their wives are pregnant.
* ''Series/DadsArmy'' featured a now MissingEpisode in which the entire cast mistakenly believes Mrs Pike is pregnant, when in fact she has arranged to take in an evacuee child. After its original broadcast in the 1970s, it received viewer complaints that the plot was too crude.
** Not missing anymore! A copy of this episode has been discovered and is included (along with the other surviving Season 2 episodes) on the Season 1 dvd.

* When CousinOliver is about to join ''TheBradyBunch'', the rest of the family misunderstand Carol's "We're going to have an addition to the family" as meaning she is pregnant.
* ''{{Dinnerladies}}'': Bren was mistakenly thought to be pregnant at one point because she refuses to donate blood during a blood drive, and later during the same episode mentions feeling dizzy and unwell. Turns out she just has a phobia of needles, and as she puts it, is very unlikely to be pregnant "unless sperm can get through sash windows".
* ''ThirdRockFromTheSun'' has Sally hanging out with pregnant women, much to the shock of Don, her love interest. According to Dick (who thinks the conversation is about shoes), "Pickles did it. Harry watched it happen."
* In the first season of ''GossipGirl'', this is the catalyst for Blair's social downfall. Serena covers for her to buy her a pregnancy test, so she is initially MistakenForPregnant as well.

* In a later episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'', Topanga's decision to go on a diet is mistaken for pregnancy when Topanga refuses breakfast, can't fit into ''Cory's'' pants, and Cory later overhears her talking to Eric about "getting through this". (Though in actuality he's agreed to go on a diet as well, though he doesn't fare nearly as well as she does.)
* An episode of ''MadAboutYou'' took this a step further. Not only was the suspected mother not pregnant, she was a ''he''.

* An episode of ''{{Bones}}'' had Cam worried that her adoptive daughter, Michelle, was pregnant due to a positive pregnancy test found in the trash. In actuality, it was Angela's test. And she wasn't pregnant after all, it was a false positive.
* ''FamilyMatters'' had a scene where Steve Urkel tries to complement a woman on her baby to be, only for the woman to correct him on that she is just fat.
* On ''TheNanny'' youngest daughter Grace (who is like 6 years old at the time) thinks she's pregnant due to misunderstanding the standard euphamisms Fran & Maggie use when talking about a character on a soap opera, who ''is'' pregnant. Grace and her "boyfriend" (male friend) "slept together" (they had a nap at the same time) which made her "late" (to a movie). The boy decides to do the right thing: marry Grace and find a job.
* ''TheMunsters'' had an episode in which Herman and Grandpa manage to misinterpret Lily working on a birthday surprise for Herman and Marilyn planning to babysit a child as Lily being pregnant and holding out on them.

* On ''That70sShow'' Kitty mistakes herself to be pregnant, only for the doctor to discover it's menopause.
* On ''StElsewhere'' Helen Rosenthal was excited about what she thought was a mid-life pregnancy, but it turned out to be menopause.
* Blanche Devereaux from ''TheGoldenGirls'' mistook menopause for a pregnancy.
* On ''[[EighteenToLife 18 To Life]]'' a positive pregnancy test keeps being misplaced and then found by someone else. By the end the three husbands believe that their wives are pregnant and the women think the same about each other. Turns out that the pregnancy test is actually really old and was kept as a keepsake by one of the women from her last pregnancy almost nine years ago.

* In 1971 Lisa on ''AsTheWorldTurns'' thought she was pregnant but it turned out to be an ovarian cyst.
* In ''TheGeorgeLopezShow'', Angie took a pregnancy test, thought she was pregnant and told George. Initially stunned, George welcomes this development, but then Angie learns the first test was wrong. However, because George seemed so happy about having another child, Angie fakes it and tries to pregnant quickly to cover. George winds up getting {{Squick}}ed out by having sex with a supposedly pregnant woman. When he hears the truth from someone else, he has a little fun with it.

* A lighter version on ''CSINewYork'' had Lindsay talking to Danny about being hungry and listing a bunch of foods she wanted him to bring her. Danny gives her a [[OhCrap look]], wondering if she's pregnant again, and she quickly responds that she isn't, she's just hungry.
* Averted and played straight for two different characters in an episode of ''RoyalPains''. One character has some WackyCravings, and a friend immediately gets her a pregnancy test. However, the main characters see ''her'' buying the pregnancy test, and start making assumptions.
** However, this mistake [[spoiler: causes them to realize their patient is pregnant.]]

** A rather heartbreaking example comes from [[spoiler: Robin]] thinks she's pregnant but her doctor tells her that not only is she not, [[spoiler: she can't have children at all.]]

* In ''SigmaStarSaga'', Recker finds himself worried that Psyme may be pregnant, even though as far as he knows, they've only kissed once. Turns out, ''she's'' not the one giving birth, her living symbiotic PoweredArmor is. Sorta.
** Also not helped by the other Krill knowing perfectly well Recker's got no idea what's going on, and making good on this golden opportunity to screw with the earthman.
* This happened in ''[[ParappaTheRapper [=UmJammer=] Lammy]]'' after the main character Lammy [[BalloonBelly ate too much pizza]].
* Junichi briefly worries that he may have gotten Kotori pregnant in ''DaCapo'' due to her rather distant attitude and avoidance of him lately. Turns out that [[spoiler:when the cherry tree died she stopped being able to read minds and has never been able to read other's emotional cues, leaving her majorly stressed around family and friends.]]

* ''CollegeRoomiesFromHell'', [[http://crfh.net/d/20091211.html here]].

** Finally, [[http://notalwaysright.com/belly-rubbed-and-snubbed/24617 this woman]] appears a bit chunky because of a medical condition requiring her to take steroid, resulting in a person straight up ''rubbing her belly'' out of nowhere. She is not amused.

* Having little to no understanding of normal human biology, Beavis of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'' once thought he was pregnant due to a severe stomach cramp.. Hilarity ensues.

* On the ''CampLazlo'' episode "Ed's Benedict", Dave and Ping-Pong slip an egg into Edward's bed as a prank. For the rest of the episode, all the kids think he's expecting while Lumpus and Slinkman awkwardly try to explain the concept of pregnancy to them.
* On an episode of ''TheFlintstones'', Fred accidentally sits on Wilma's knitting needles and finds a partially-knitted sock. He assumes Wilma is pregnant, and excitedly runs outside with the news, before Wilma has a chance to explain that it was for Betty's sister's baby. Note that Fred found a similar knitting arrangement in a later episode in that same season, but this time, [[spoiler: it led to the announcement that Wilma was pregnant with Pebbles.]]
* On ''{{Daria}},'' [[LovableLibby Quinn]] mistook her parents for trying to ''become'' pregnant. (I mean, why else would they be...''[[PrimalScene you know]].'') She spends her subplot of the episode trying to keep them apart so she won't have to compete with a new baby.

* Due to the above, DaveBarry once said in his column that you should never assume a woman is pregnant unless you see a baby coming out of her at that specific point in time...

----

* In ''BridgetJones: The Edge of Reason'', Bridget tries to buy a pregnancy test, but she is unable to speak the local language and everyone in the store ends up thinking she already is pregnant.

* Hal from ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'' does this to a prospective employer, rubbing her belly and playfully asking "Oh, and what have we here?" to which the woman replies in a mock-cheerful tone that it's her big, fat stomach. Not surprisingly, the scene quickly jump cuts to Hal's next job interview.

* In ''WhileYouWereSleeping'', Lucy is at one point mistaken for pregnant by the family who believe she's engaged to his comatose son (she isn't). This leads Jack, the man's brother, to announce this misconception to all of her friends at a New Year's Eve party when he tries to [[OneDrinkWillKillTheBaby prevent her drinking an alcoholic beverage]]. Not surprisingly, Jack ends up with a lot of apologizing to do.

* In one ''CalvinAndHobbes'' storyline, Calvin's [[UnnamedParent mom]] is sick, and Hobbes wonders if she's pregnant. Calvin later asks his parents, and his dad mentions that if she was, she'd look like "a hippopotamus with gland problems".
-->'''Calvin:''' And that's when mom whacked him with her pillow
-->'''Hobbes:''' You have weird parents

* ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': A random guy congratulates a woman with a noticeable belly. When she angrily tells him that she's not pregnant, he tries to make it better. He congratulates her on being fat. [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=489 Read it here]].

* Having little to no understanding of normal human biology, Beavis of ''BeavisAndButthead'' once thought he was pregnant due to a severe stomach cramp.. Hilarity ensues.

[[folder: Real Life ]]
* Due to the above, DaveBarry once said in his column that you should never assume a woman is pregnant unless you see a baby coming out of her at that specific point in time...
* Jimmy Carr also made a joke about this. When asked why he refuses to give up his seat for a pregnant woman on public transport, his response was: ''It's better to see a pregnant woman standing up than a fat woman sitting down, crying.''
** [[DontExplainTheJoke For the non-comedians, it is possible to politely ask someone if they would like your seat without speculating on whether they are pregnant or not.]]
** Even if they ARE pregnant, don't lay on hands without permission!
* The various tabloid articles on baby rumors, showing photos of actresses who simply look like they ''exhaled''.
* Women who are actually pregnant will sometimes invoke this trope when strangers start asking questions that are, quite frankly, none of their business ("How far along are you?" "Is it a boy or girl?" "When are you due?" etc.). This usually results in a very embarrassed person making a hasty exit much to the relief of the pregnant gal.
* Some women's bodies are naturally built so a lot of the weight in their body goes to their stomach, creating a slightly protruding belly even if they're not pregnant.
** An exchange from ''Disorderly Conduct'', a book of legal humor (all from transcripts):
--> '''Counsel''': Is there anything about your physical condition that might make it difficult for you to serve in this case?
--> '''Juror''': No.
--> '''Counsel''': You don't have doctor's appointments today or the next couple of days?
--> '''Juror''': No.
--> '''Counsel''': Do you have any physical problems with your pregnancy?
--> '''Juror''': I'm not pregnant.
* Certain medical conditions also cause weight gain to be located in certain areas. Type II Diabetes causes people who have it to be trunk heavy. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is also characterized with insulin resistance, causes unusual weight gain, particularly in the belly. It is also a leading cause of infertility, making any assumption that the woman is pregnant MUCH more painful than an implication on her weight.
* The so-called ''Flora Hastings Affair'' at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. The Queen accused one of her ladies-in-waiting to be pregnant and thus having lived a scandalous lifestyle. Flora Hastings' growing belly seemed to support the thesis until it turned out that she had had a tumour and died shortly afterward. The Queen's approval rating sank heavily after this and she had much apologizing to do.
* Tennis Hall of Famer and current broadcaster Todd Woodbridge learned the hard way to never speculate about a woman being pregnant when [[http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog/busted_racquet/post/TV-interviewer-asks-Kim-Clijsters-if-she-s-pregn?urn=ten-309918 tennis star Kim Clijsters confronted him during the 2011 Australian Open about a text message that he sent.]]
[[/folder]]

* NationalTreasure: Upon seeing his son turn up in the middle of the night with a beautiful woman, Patrick asks, "Is she pregnant?"

* On ''TheNanny'' youngest daughter Grace (who is like 6 years old at the time) thinks she's pregnant due to misunderstanding the standard euphamisms Fran & her friend use when talking about another friend of theirs, who ''is'' pregnant. Grace and her "boyfriend" (male friend) "slept together" (they had a nap at the same time) which made her "late" (to a movie). The boy decides to do the right thing: marry Grace and find a job.

* On ''TheNanny'' youngest daughter Grace (who is like 8 years old at the time) thinks she's pregnant due to misunderstanding the standard euphamisms Fran & her friend use when talking about another friend of theirs, who ''is'' pregnant. Grace and her "boyfriend" (male friend) "slept together" (they had a nap at the same time) which made her "late" (to a party). The boy decides to do the right thing: marry Grace and find a job.

%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

[[AC:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

[[AC: {{Commercials}}]]

[[AC: FanFic]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

** In one episode Marshall mentions that their mail person hates him because Marshall genuinely mistook him for a pregnant lady.

[[AC:RealLife]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WebComics]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* On ''{{Daria}},'' [[LovableLibby Quinn]] mistook her parents for trying to ''become'' pregnant. (I mean, why else would they be...''[[PrimalScene you know]].'') She spends her subplot of the episode trying to keep them apart so she won't have to compete with a new baby.
----

-->-- Jimmy Carr

* ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': A random guy congratulates a woman with a noticeable belly. When she angrily tells him that she's not pregnant, he tries to make it better. He congratulates her on [[spoiler:being fat]]. [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=489 Read it here]].

* In the first segment of the season three opener of ''BeyondBeliefFactOrFiction,'' "Morning Sickness," a girl suffers symptoms of what her parents are convinced is pregnancy, despite a negative pregnancy test and the daughter's claims that she's still a virgin. At the hospital, doctors tell the parents that there's a tumor or cyst in the daughter's intestines, but during surgery to remove it, said tumor turns out to be a live baby octopus, resulting from when the daughter swallowed an octopus egg while swimming in the ocean. Thankfully, at the end of the episode, it's revealed that the story never happened, it's just a real popular urban legend.

->''"I'd much rather see a pregnant woman standing up on a bus, than a fat girl sitting down, crying"''
-->-Jimmy Carr

* [[WhatWereTheySellingAgain Can't remember what the commercial was for]], but 2 women are in the supermarket when one thinks the other is pregnant and congratulates her and says that it's probably a girl because she's carrying low. The other woman (who looks like a cross between SassyBlackWoman and BrawnHilda) angrily replies, "I'm not pregnant! Just WHAT are you trying to say?!"

* ''{{Friends}}'': "The One With Chandler and Monica's Wedding" and "The One After 'I Do'". In this one, Phoebe found a positive pregnancy test and Rachel (whose test it was) allowed everyone to assume it was Monica's. Then when Phoebe learnt the truth, but Rachel still didn't want to tell anyone, she claimed ''she'' was the one who was pregnant. This leads to Joey proposing marriage so she won't have to go it alone.

* Blanche Devereaux from ''TheGoldenGirls'' also mistook menopause for a pregnancy.

* A particularly disturbing version happens in ''Series/{{CSI}}''. Catherine is interrogating the daughter of a murder suspect when the girl begins to lactate--a symptom which, coupled with the fact they just found evidence of the daughter sharing her father's bed, leads Catherine to suspect [[ParentalIncest the worst]]. However, the medical examination reveals the girl is in fact a virgin, and her symptoms are the result of a "false pregnancy" brought on by [[{{Squick}} a very extreme Electra complex]].

* A rather heartbreaking example comes from ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. [[spoiler: Robin]] thinks she's pregnant but her doctor tells her that not only is she not, [[spoiler: she can't have children at all.]]
* Inverted on ''DesperateHousewives'', when Susan was mistaken for being in menopause when she was actually pregnant.