Woman who didn't know she was pregnant for 9 months reported herself for child abuse, Oh Eun-young says

A woman in her 20s who had no idea she was pregnant for nine months discovered she was 35 weeks along only after visiting an emergency room — and gave birth shortly after. The sudden new mother later struggled with the shock of parenthood and ultimately reported herself to police for child abuse.

The couple appeared Monday on MBC's entertainment program "Oh Eun-young Report — Marriage Hell" as an "SOS couple." The wife, 29, and her husband, 30, have been married four years. She opened the segment with a confession: "The time my child spends alone with me is the most dangerous time in the world."

The wife revealed she had been completely unaware of her pregnancy for nine months. She said her irregular menstrual cycle — caused by polycystic ovary syndrome, which left her menstruating only once or twice a year — meant she noticed nothing unusual. She also said she experienced no morning sickness or fetal movement.

She had even gained weight and, assuming she needed to diet, took weight-loss medication and shed 12 kilograms. "The belly fat wouldn't go away, and I could feel a hard lump, so I thought I had cancer," she recalled. It was only after suffering severe back pain and feeling something strange while straining in the bathroom that she went to the emergency room and learned the truth.

"I told the doctor I thought I had cancer because I could feel a lump in my stomach, and the doctor asked, 'Did you not know you were pregnant?'" she said. "The lump I had been feeling was the baby's head. I was already 35 weeks pregnant. The baby's feet were coming out."

The fetus was in a breech position, so she underwent an emergency cesarean section and became a mother just 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital.

The sudden birth left her deeply disoriented. "As soon as I came to after the surgery, the first thing I looked for was my dog, and I even suggested putting the baby up for adoption," she admitted. "I was in so much pain that I didn't see the baby until I went to the postpartum care center."

A makeup artist who works in film and special effects, she said she had built her sense of self-worth around her career and income. "I had been living with the confidence that I had a job and was earning good money, and then I suddenly became a mother," she said. "I don't think I really felt that the baby was lovable back then."

Footage shown on the program depicted the wife losing emotional control when the baby cried, treating the child roughly, and taking medication one after another to manage her anxiety. Psychiatrist Oh Eun-young determined that the wife's behavior constituted child abuse. At the production team's request, the wife reported herself to police.