Pseudocyesis (False Pregnancy); Causes, Symptoms, And More

False Pregnancy (Pseudocyesis)

Being pregnant comes with overwhelming joy and excitement, most especially for expectant parents. There have been some cases though rare in which women believe that they are pregnant, only to find out that it was a delusion. Those symptoms were not caused by pregnancy, but by something else.

It is clinically referred to as pseudocyesis, a belief that you are expecting a child when you are not truly carrying a baby.

Research has shown that pseudocyesis has many, if not all the symptoms of pregnancy but there is no fetus.

Some men have also been found to experience a similar phenomenon called couvade or sympathetic pregnancy. They experience the same symptoms such as backache, weight gain, and nausea with those that are pregnant.

Possible causes of false pregnancy 

Although there is no exact answer to date why some women experience false pregnancy but there are three leading theories on the possible causes.

One of the theories by some mental health professionals states that when a woman desires to be pregnant, possibly after experiencing some challenges such as infertility and miscarriages she may begin to read certain changes in her body as a sign that she is pregnant.

The second theory on false pregnancy is related to particular chemical changes in the nervous system related to depressive disorders. This theory proposed that these chemical changes are responsible for the symptoms of false pregnancy.

Some other health professionals believed that it is a result of an intense desire or fear of getting pregnant. Deducing that this can affect the endocrine system, causing symptoms of pregnancy.

Some researchers have also suggested that childhood sexual abuse, poverty, lack of education, and relationship problems might also play a role in triggering pseudocyesis.

Read Also; The Problem Of Infertility In Marriages And Possible Causes 

Symptoms of false pregnancy (Pseudocyesis)

The most obvious symptom of false pregnancy is a distended abdomen i.e. having a swollen abdomen as the stomach begins to expand as it is during pregnancy.

These symptoms which is not as a result of a baby can be due to;

• Fat
• Gas
• Feces
• Urine

Other symptoms of false pregnancy include;

• Irregularity of menstrual cycle
• Tender breast
• Lactation
• Changes in breast size and breast pigmentation
• Vomiting and morning sickness
• Weight gain
• Enlargement of the uterus
• Softening of the cervix
• Increased appetite

Reports have shown that one-third of the women experiencing false pregnancy even feel the baby moving in their body. Some women also report feeling the baby kick, whereas there was never a baby present in their belle.

Test for false pregnancy

To check whether a woman is having this issue, the same test used to visualize and feel the fetus during pregnancy can be carried out. The doctor can check their symptoms and carry out an abdominal ultrasound examination.

If no baby is seen on the ultrasound it simply means that the pregnancy is false.

Some medical conditions can mimic the symptoms of pregnancy. They include morbid obesity, ectopic pregnancy, and cancer. All these conditions need to be checked first.

Is there any treatment for pseudocyesis (false pregnancy)?

Pseudocyesis does not have exact physical causes and hence no general recommendation for using medication to treat it.

Psychotherapist treatment can help in the case of women with psychological instability which has been seen as one of the major causes of false pregnancy.

Pseudocyesis (False Pregnancy); Causes, Symptoms, And More

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Raphael Okhueleigbe

Raphael Osas Okhueleigbe is a Blogger, Content creator, Agricultural Economist, Resource manager, and the founder of greener health.

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