Perhaps you should have included a "Spolier Alert" with your topic.

That said, Peggy is preggo? Whoda thunk? Next thing you know, Sal is gay, Don has a secret identity, Joan physically abuses her fiance, Roger dresses up in black face doing his best Al Jolson imitation and Lois Sadler amputates the foot of the new CEO while riding a lawn mower in the office. Crazy.

Some women never have regular periods. Some women also menstruate during pregnancy (rare but it happens) and some women simply never show a baby bump during pregnancy.

It is possible Peggy never took the pill at all -- maybe she never had the script filled or she started the meds and didn't like the side effects.

And some women are in denial about their pregnancies. (I am wondering if it's possible to have a PPD-type of situation during the late stages of pregnancy)

C'mon, Polar Bear....this is Mad Men, not some soap opera where the writers drag in any old unbelievable plot twist just to move the story along....next you'll be telling us Paris Hilton's grandpa shows up....

@Polar Bear
Perhaps debz should have included a spoiler alert warning; however, you're comment content was completely unnecessary. I've only seen the first season (we're waiting for season two and have ordered season three) so you're spoiler comment ruined several upcoming surprises. I clicked on this thread because I was also surprised that Peggy was pregnant and thought it would be nice to read other people's thoughts on the matter. Instead, I found this. Maybe next time you should think twice about how you try to point out someone else's oversight because you’ve had one of your own.

@debz
I agree! How are we supposed to believe she'd go nine months without realizing she was pregnant? Although, there is that show on TLC "I didn't know I was pregnant," so maybe they're taking the idea from there.

Yes, hard to believe how anyone would block out being pregnant but she is a young single catholic woman in early 1960s. Imagine the consequences - being shunned by her family, friends, and collegues at work. Remember there are no Maury or Jerry Springer generated paternity tests in the 1960s. Yes I know we'd love to hear this on next Maury episode "Pete Campbell you are the father of Peggy Olson's Baby". Lets look at Peggy's contemporaries / role models - Joan Halloway-Harris? Bobbie Barrett?. The whole "denial pregnancy is a story line used in the Magical Realism of Latin American novels. Perhaps Mr. Weiner and his staff have been reading up on "Like Water for Chocolate, or "House of Spirits" no doubt.

Both events - the sleeping with Pete and seeing the doctor for the pill - happened on the same day. Even if she started taking the pill that day, it usually takes some time (a week or two) for the pill to do what it needs to do.

And I can totally see how she would willingly deny the pregnancy when she gets to be the only woman writing copy at the company. She is still intelligent, and her denial is part of what makes her psychology so fascinating to me.

The doc only gave her one month prescription and said don't make a habit of this. Also, this is a period piece (no pun intended haha) and times were very different back then. No sex ed and openess about such a subject.

speaking of MAD lois - i saw her in disaster movie the other day - yes it is true - i watched disaster movie - please don't judge me...

Peggy went to the Dr. in the pilot on her lunch hour. She got pregnant later that night before the pill became effective when a drunken Pete showed up on her doorstep.
Still the best episode of any show ever!

Polarbear, nice to see you again, but with all this Winter weather we're having all over the US, I thought you'd still be hibernating!

It's good to see new MM fans emerging and posting here. Yes, we "old faithful" Maddicts went through the same questions (many times), but let's give the new fans their due.

Debz. all I can say is: you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Hi! I'm one of those new MM fans emerging. I just found the series prior to the third season. I now own the first season on DVD and watched the 2nd season via Netflix.

I'm so enthralled with the series that I find any plausible explanation to justify the storylines. My rationale would be that the pill reacts differently with different women, especially in those early days of its introduction. Regarding Peggy's pregnancy, she may have chalked the irregular cycle and weight gain up to the contraceptive. Combine that with her youth, lack of sophistication, Catholic guilt, desire to excel in her new position, and denial about a possible pregnancy and voila-an unexpected baby!

I've also watched a few episodes of the reality show- "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant". They show women who are older, have had previous pregnancies, and some even have medical backgrounds, and they didn't know they were pregnant! As a mother, it seems highly unlikely to me, but apparently it does happen.

Thanks for letting me join in!

Hmmm. She was given the contraceptive in her lunch hour, you saw the very brief explanation given by the Dr - basically, don't become a trollop to get your money's worth.
The Pill takes at least a month to take effect - which means any intercourse before then is highly risky. Fast forward a few hours and Pete turns up at her apartment and they sleep together. Peggy is coping with a new job, 'fast' office politics, extra work with her promotion to jnr copywriter, her own ambition,and continuing her crush on Pete from afar (ahem, most of the time). So it would not occur to her to think any weight gain, absence of menstruation etc could possibly be attributed to pregnancy. Also, sex was still not a 'spoken about' topic - nor was family planning unless you were married.(Remember the leaflet titled, "on your wedding night" she nervously flicked through while waiting for the Dr, and quickly tossed aside?) In those days, Dr's were highly respected and it was not acceptable to doubt their actions or opinions, so Peggy probably put her utmost faith in the fact that she was safe from pregnancy as soon as she took the Pill, so it would not occur to her to think any weight gain, absence of menstruation etc could possibly be attributed to pregnancy. Joan's accusations of Peggy 'letting herself go' would have also made Peggy focus on her own failings in this area.
My only qualm in this story line was the fact that Pete was such a creep to her in the first ep, and Don was the hero for chiding Pete's rude 'frat boy' comments to Peggy in front of them. To then go and sleep with Pete is the part that didn't make sense to me :)

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

Top 10 Reasons Peggy Did Not Know She Was Pregnant:

10. Confused her birth control pills with her PEZ dispenser.
9. A plot device used by Matt Weiner to confuse the audience into believing that her sister Anita is raising her son in S2.
8. Pete and Trudy will search far and wide to adopt Pete’s illegitimate son.
7. Peggy is a big girl now and she can make her own decisions, right Duck?
6. Father Gill has to give someone his blue egg.
5. Peggy likes the sound of “town pump”.
4. Denial is not a river in Egypt.
3. Bad/Stupid behavior is not a gender specific trait (see Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, W, Sarah Pallin, John Edwards, Mel Gibson, Jessica Simpson, ACORN, the Tea Party and the Real Housewives of Orange County).
2. The sandwich cart serves a mean Danish.

And the number one reason Peggy did not know she was pregnant . . .
1. Immaculate Conception

In Season 2 Peggy meets with her mother and sister, they sit around the kitchen table and talk. When Peggy begins to leave, she opens a bedroom door and there are 3 babies. Is the youngest one Peggy's ? Then her sister hands her a baby in church, whose bambino is that, do we know? I'm catching up on MM with Netflix, ask me if I'm hooked! Do we know when Season 4 begins?

Polar Bear, you're too funny.

Does anyone remember in Season 2 where Peggy and her mother and sister were having lunch and Peggy got up to leave and opened a bedroom door first and peeked in at 3 babies? (I'm watching MM on dvd's thru Netflix, trying to catch up). Maybe it's explained in a later episode?

Are all those her babies? or just the youngest?, or? Then she doesn't want to hold the youngest in a church scene and offers no comfort to the crying baby. She plays the role of a nut job very well. :-)

Peggy is my hero! Not a nut job!

Do you remember Don visiting her in hospital and telling how that it was amazing how none of this happened? He helped her push what she didn't want to be real, into an area that exists outside of her reality. It's early 60's and people weren't as "in touch" with their emotions as people are today. Btw, when Don reveals all to Betty, he cries. Men didn't do that until the 70's :)

Mitzi, as far as I remember, there were only 2 babies and one was her sister's.

Polar Bear, to be pedantic, the Immaculate Conception refers to Mary's conception, not the baby Jesus :)

Does anyone else suspect that Peggy's skirt may have torn in episode 8 ("Shoot") not because she's "starting to let herself go", as the men in the office discussed, but because she's pregnant? Remember, she's been sleeping with Pete since the first episode (and I suspect it will come out that they supposedly knew each other before that--why else her hurry to get on the pill?).

Eric | Ricky

I agree! How are we supposed to believe she'd go nine months without realizing she was pregnant? Although, there is that show on TLC "I didn't know I was pregnant," so maybe they're taking the idea from there. online fax

I am a big fan of the show, but Weiner is sometimes a little too clever at the expense of getting the facts out there. And the issue of Peggy's baby is one of those cases. I only know the truth of Weiner's intentions because of your column, and surely that shouldn't be.
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Two years have passed. That baby has probably been adopted long ago by someone else.

I like the choices that Weiner makes -- dramatic without being soapy.

YourNetBiz | Sportbike

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We can't say we didn't warn you. Looks like the kids at Comcast have to answer some questions over at the Justice Department -- and.teeth whitening

Looks like there's a piece on this over on the blog, too...with a Maddict's link to his own creations....which I think are even better than the Mattel ones, as do other Maddicts it seems.key west transportation

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Hard to believe how anyone would block out being pregnant but she is a young single woman in early 1960s. Imagine the consequences being shunned by her family, friends, and colleagues at work.
online fax

Pregnancy is a very delicate topic to deal with..There are many reasons why people want to get pregnant some wants to have a child.But for those who get pregnant at an early age that is what we called un wanted pregnancy.In most case like this it is commonly practice by young people.And i think we should do something about it gets worst..

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Pregnancy is a very delicate topic to deal with..There are many reasons why people want to get pregnant some wants to have a child.But for those who get pregnant at an early age that is what we called un wanted pregnancy.In most case like this it is commonly practice by young people.And i think we should do something about it gets worst..

Dining room furniture

Very dlicate topic to deal with..
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Peggy's pregnancy could have been prevented. She could have used a contraceptive or purchased a purity ring from cornerstone jewelry. Purity Rings have statistically shown that they can prevent pregnancy. This is a very special topic to talk about and I'm glad amctv.com has made the effort to bring it public and make a statement about her pregnancy. When does season 4 begin? I'm really excited for it.

nice, very nice article, thanks to the the blogger to write this. appreciate your speculating as it arouses people’s concern today We all know about it here.
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I guess Betty was mad, hot and horny! She took up with a stranger in a bar. While I do not condone what she did, I can understand why she did engage in an adulterous affair. Betty is a fragile soul. She was probably looking for some sort of affirmation.
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