What is False Pregnancy/ Pseudocyesis/Phantom Pregnancy?

How Common Is False Pregnancy Or Hysterical Pregnancy?

The concept of false pregnancy or Hysterical Pregnancy is nothing new.  The average age of a woman who experiences a Hysterical pregnancy is 33 years. Nearly one-third of women with pseudocyesis have become pregnant at least one time before, and also more than two to three are married. Women who have experienced incest could have a greater chance of experiencing a Hysterical pregnancy.

In many countries, with easy access to accurate pregnancy tests. In those places, false pregnancy or Hysterical Pregnancy have become quite rare cases. Someone links a woman’s worth with her ability to conceive, and Hysterical Pregnancy is seen in higher chances in these parts of the world.

What Causes Phantom Pregnancy?

The actual cause of Phantom pregnancy is yet to be unknown. Recently the doctors have started focusing on the physical and psychological aspects of becoming pregnant. Sometimes it is the psychological aspect that tricks the woman into believing and thinking that she is ‘pregnant.’

The inherent desire to get pregnant makes a woman feel that she is having pregnancy symptoms, and the same signal is sent to the brain. The brain then produces pregnancy hormones, but actually, this is a hysterical pregnancy or pseudocyesis. It is the belief that a woman considers herself to be pregnant and expects a baby where actually she is not carrying one.

The woman’s intense desire to be pregnant, particularly in infertile women, women having repeated miscarriages, or approaching menopause, are more prone to experience pseudocyesis. Signs associated with pregnancy, such as swollen belly, enlarged breasts, etc. are perceived as signs of actual pregnancy by a woman’s brain.

Pseudocyesis has complex involvement of endocrine, cortical, hypothalamic, and psychological factors. Pseudocyesis has complex involvement of endocrine, cortical, hypothalamic, and psychological factors. According to experts, pseudocyesis is the outcome of stress load on the ‘hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal’ axis, weight gain constipation, and intestinal gas movement.

Some experts believe that inadequate education, childhood sexual abuse, relationship issues, and poverty have a substantial role in triggering pseudocyesis.

Signs and Symptoms of Hysterical Pregnancy

A phantom or a false pregnancy is also marked by symptoms like a real pregnancy. The woman experience symptoms identical to pregnancy, and it often becomes quite baffling for her. The following symptoms are experienced by females with pseudocyesis:

1. Amenorrhoea
2. Morning sickness
3. Swollen belly
4. Tender and enlarged breasts
5. Changes in coloration of nipples
6. Sometimes milk production from breasts
7. Interruption of the menstrual period
8. Perception of fetal movements
9. Nausea and vomiting
10. Weight gain
11. Uterine enlargement
12. Softening of cervix

Such symptoms can be seen only for a few weeks or even for nine months. A small fraction of pseudocyesis patients also lands up in hospitals with ‘labor pains’ like pains.

Characteristics Of A False Pregnancy

The characteristic hallmark sign of false pregnancy is a strong conviction in the woman that she is pregnant.

• 60-70 percent of pseudocyesis patients experience abdominal distension identical to pregnancy. The distension usually resolves in general anesthesia, and her distended abdomen returns to nonpregnant size
• Menstrual irregularity is the second characteristic sign of pseudocyesis and is seen in around 50-90 percent of patients
• The sensation of fetal movement or quickening is also an important symptom experienced by the majority of pseudocyesis patients

Diagnosis Of Phantom Pregnancy

The following steps are taken to diagnose a phantom pregnancy:

1. In order to assess whether a woman is actually pregnant or she is experiencing phantom pregnancy, the doctor performs her pelvic examination and advice abdominal ultrasonography
2. A urine test is also perfumed, but it is not a very reliable test. Ultrasonography is the most trusted and ultimate test. There will be no fetal heartbeat heard and no fetus will be seen in the uterus
3. There are few medical conditions (ectopic pregnancy, morbid obesity, etc.) that can present pregnancy-like symptoms. These conditions should be ruled out with
4. appropriate tests

Sometimes women even pretend to be pregnant. In true pseudocyesis, a woman actually feels lie a pregnant woman. If a woman consciously and intentionally pretends pregnancy, the condition is called simulated pregnancy.

Treatment Of False Pregnancy

The doctors are required to tell the woman very gently the news and should provide her the much-needed psychological support such as meditation therapy, etc. This will help the patient with pseudocyesis from recuperating from the obvious disappointment.

Since hysterical pregnancy is concerned with the psychological aspect of a woman, the doctors also sometimes advise her on medications to treat symptoms like cessation of periods, nausea, vomiting, etc. Psychotherapy can also be helpful in curing the psychological aspect of the patient.

Emotional support from the husband and the family is very important in combating her condition. Psychiatrist counseling is also very beneficial in explaining her actual situation and empowering her with the much need strength to deal with her false pregnancy.