False Pregnancy/ Pseudocyesis: When There Really is No Baby

Pseudopregnancy, also known by the terms grosses nerveuse, false pregnancy, feigned pregnancy, imaginary pregnancy, hysterical pregnancy, phantom pregnancy, pseudocyesis and spurious pregnancy, is an unusual condition caused by organic or psychogenic factors. Pseudopregnancy can occur in animals as well as humans. In rare instances, the condition has also been reported occurring in human males.

The condition of pseudocyesis or false pregnancy has been known since early times. Hippocrates wrote about women who believed they were pregnant as early as 300 B.C.

There are several theories regarding why this condition presents itself in certain individuals. One theory is called "Conflict Theory" whereby the desire or fear of being pregnant causes the body to go into internal conflict causing endocrine changes that mimic pregnancy. Another theory is the "Wish-Fulfillment Theory" whereby minor body changes initiate a false belief in susceptible individuals that they are pregnant. The third theory, the "Depression Theory" is associated with a major depressive disorder.

All the theories seem to have a place in the cause of pseudopregnancy and one or more may be simultaneously involved. Most women who have the condition are married and the average age of the sufferer is 33 years, but children as young as 6 1/2 and women as old as 79 have been reported experiencing pseudocyesis.

Pseudocyesis is more common in women during their second marriage than their first. The symptoms usually last about 9 months but in some cases up to several years. All the signs and symptoms of a real pregnancy are seen with the exception of a true fetal heart tone, fetal parts seen by imaging techniques and delivery of a fetus.

False pregnancy is an uncommon disorder and appears to have no single underlying cause. Scientific research has linked false pregnancy to the pituitary gland and specifically to an unusually high level of hormones. Often, women with pseudocyesis test positive on pregnancy tests which makes the condition even more baffling.

For women who are experiencing pseudopregnancy, counseling is recommended to treat underlying psychological and emotional causes including anxiety, depression and stress.

The incidence of false pregnancy in the United States has greatly declined during the last century with the use of imaging techniques. At the present time it is estimated that approximately one to six false pregnancies occur in every 22,000 births.