What is false pregnancy and how to identify it?

Pregnancy is considered to be one of the most anticipated moments in a woman’s life.

Although many times there are false alarms like a late period, sore breasts and nausea, which makes a woman suspicious about being pregnant.

In some cases, these symptoms are more pronounced without an actual presence of a fetus.

Symptoms like missed periods, growing abdomen, and even fetal movement, tricks the body to believe that it’s pregnant when it’s not. This phenomenon is known as False Pregnancy or Pseudocyesis.

In other words, Pseudocyesis occurs when a woman experiences pregnancy symptoms and believes she’s pregnant without actually carrying a child.

Doctors are trying to determine the causes of false pregnancy, there are a lot of theories revolving around it. Some doctors believe that this is due to psychological issues. There are three main psychological issues that can lead to phantom pregnancy.

Those are:

Fear or yearning of being pregnant: Some doctors believe that the longing or the fear of being pregnant tricks the body into thinking that it is carrying a child. These symptoms can be caused due to change in the endocrine system, which results in symptoms of pregnancy.

Emotional Trauma: Some doctors believe that the loss of a child, miscarriage, mental breakdown and infertility can cause trauma to the brain and tricks them into believing that they are pregnant. The extreme desire to have a child convinces them that they are pregnant.

Mental Trauma: Some professionals believe that poverty, a lack of education and childhood sexual abuse can lead the woman into believing that they are pregnant.

Some other medical conditions that can cause false pregnancy are:

• Abdominal bloating caused due to weight gain, gas, or tumour combined with the longing of being pregnant can cause these symptoms.

• Other problems like pituitary tumours or uterine cysts or growths combined with the longing of being pregnant can result in these symptoms.

False pregnancy has all the same symptoms as that of an actual pregnancy. Those symptoms are:

• Irregular menstrual period
• Swollen belly
• Enlarged and tender breasts
• Change in the nipples
• Possible milk production
• A feeling of fetal movements
• Nausea and vomiting
• Weight gain
• Morning Sickness
• Reduced appetite
• Bloating
• Labour pain

There is no definite test to diagnose false pregnancy. The only way to know if a person is pregnant is to take an ultrasound and a pregnancy test. If both the tests come back negative and the woman still believes that she is pregnant, the patient will be diagnosed with false pregnancy.

There is no definite treatment for false pregnancy, the symptoms of false pregnancy will diminish when the patient finds out that they are not pregnant. In some cases, if the pregnancy is caused by psychological issues, therapy will be recommended to deal with the emotions and the trauma that led to false pregnancy.

If the symptoms are occurring due to some physical medical conditions. The doctor will treat the condition first. The symptoms will diminish on their own.