Bounty

Incredibly, 23 per cent of women who hoodwinked their partner said they knew he would give in one day, but needed to be ''encouraged'' to speed things up.

A third of unrepentant women said their biological clock was ticking, while 19 per cent of tricksters knew their partner never wanted to have a baby.

The shocking figures emerged in a study of 3,000 mums - which also shows 65 per cent of these mums were successful the very first time they tried to trick their partner.

And those women who didn't fall pregnant first time round continued to sleep with someone and lie to them a further nine times until they finally conceived.

The most common ways to trap an unsuspecting male into conceiving a child is avoiding any conversation about children or contraception (29 per cent).

A fifth of mums lied to their partner about being on the pill, whilst 15 per cent said they'd had the injection.

Twelve per cent of ladies would simply drop a pill every now and then, and 11 per cent resorted to getting their partner drunk.

Faye Mingo, spokeswoman for parenting club Bounty.com, said: ''Thankfully our research found that 86 per cent women polled would never consider 'tricking' their partners into conceiving.

''But a over a quarter admitted they fell pregnant before their partner had actually agreed to 'try for a baby'.

''Whilst we do understand that some women in stable relationships may feel the need to nudge things along when their biological clock starts ticking, the possible implications of tricking a partner must be considered.

''Research shows that when dads are positively involved, children do better in all sorts of ways - from behaviour and sociability through to IQ, language and development.

''This is even the case in pregnancy as studies show that the better the relationship between a pregnant woman and her partner.

''The lower the women's stress levels which can effect healthy birth weight, prematurity and child behavioural and emotional issues.''

The poll shows only 35 per cent of women who have tricked a partner into conceiving a baby have revealed all in the end.

And only 27 per cent of conned men bothered to question how their partner or one night stand got pregnant in the first place.

But 54 per cent of people are still with the person they ended up having a child with, and only 15 per cent regret their decision to be deceptive.

Of the 15 per cent, 24 per cent felt guilty about trapping someone into fatherhood, and 18 per cent say it ruined their relationship.

A further 18 per cent found themselves facing life as a single parent, while 12 per cent reckon the dad never loved the child as much as they did.

Faye Mingo added: ''Over half of mums who 'tricked' their partners said this was the best decision they ever made, yet the majority of women recognise there is a big difference between 'tricking' someone into pregnancy and trusting your instinct about your relationship enough to give things a gentle push!

''For most couples deciding to have a child is one of the biggest decisions they'll ever make and together they'll have lots of fun trying for a baby.''

MOST COMMON WAYS WOMEN 'TRICK' SOMEONE:

1.            You just didn't talk about it

2.            You told them you were on the pill

3.            You told them you'd had the injection

4.            You weren't very careful about taking the pill

5.            You got them drunk

6.            You told them you'd had the coil fitted

7.            You put a needle through the condom / wrapper

8.            You told them it was the wrong time of the month to conceive

9.            You had a one night stand and didn't make them use contraception

10.          You told them you were infertile