In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is false pregnancy (pseudocyesis).
False pregnancy, also known as pseudocyesis, is a type of somatoform disorder. This group of disorders, which also includes functional neurological symptom disorder (formerly known as conversion disorder), involves physical symptoms that stem from psychiatric causes. In false pregnancy, a person develops the physical signs and symptoms of pregnancy, and they believe they are pregnant, but doing a Doppler ultrasound there is no fetal heartbeat detected and ultrasound imaging shows no fetus.
It’s a rare condition that has been reported in males as well as females, and in people ranging from age 6 to 79. It occurs throughout the world, but it’s more common in developing countries.
Associated factors
Common factors associated with pseudocyesis include low socioeconomic status, limited education, and a history of fertility difficulties. It is most common in married women, and often the relationships are unstable or abusive. Younger women in cultures that place great emphasis on childbearing and motherhood appear to be the most at risk.
The onset may be triggered by stress or fear around childbearing, which in turn may be prompted by a miscarriage or losing a child.
False pregnancy symptoms
Someone experiencing false pregnancy may stop menstruating, their abdomen may become distended and they may gain weight, they may experience morning sickness, and they may have changes in pigmentation consistent with pregnancy. There may be changes in the cervix consistent with pregnancy, and milk may be secreted from the breasts. A blood hCG test (the blood version of a urine pregnancy test) is usually negative, but there are a number of conditions that may result in a false positive.
Co-occurring and related conditions
Despite some understanding of potential triggers, there is no clear cause of false pregnancy. It’s often associated with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, and it can also co-occur with other mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and anorexia nervosa. It may be related to issues with neurotransmitter signalling, particularly involving dopamine, that affect the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.
Related conditions include factitious pregnancy, i.e. feigning pregnancy for some type of gain, and delusional pregnancy. In delusional pregnancy, the woman is absolutely certain she is pregnant, but there isn’t the cluster of physical indicators of pregnancy as there would be in pseudocyesis.
Treatment
People experiencing false pregnancy typically don’t present to mental health services, so getting them the proper treatment may be difficult. Psychotherapy, such as psychodynamic psychotherapy, is the primary form of treatment.
Somatoform disorders, in general, fascinate me, but false pregnancy in particular. For the mind to trick the body into acting like it’s pregnant is really quite bizarre.
References
- Campos, S.J., & Link, D. (2016). Pseudocyesis. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 12(6), 390-394.
- Marzieh, A., & Elyasi,m F. (2017). Biopsychosocial view to pseudocyesis: A narrative review. International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine, 15(9), 535-542.
- Thippaiah, S.M., et al. (2018). A case of concomitant pseudocyesis and Couvade syndrome variant. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 48(3), 29-32.
- Wikipedia: False pregnancy
The Psychology Corner has an overview of terms covered in the What Is… series, along with a collection of scientifically validated psychological tests.
Ashley L. Peterson
BScPharm BSN MPN
Ashley is a former mental health nurse and pharmacist and the author of four books.
Is this different than sympathetic pregnancy when a man’s partner is expecting? Or is that a subset of this disorder?
They’re related, but false pregnancy occurs on its own without a partner being pregnant.
Thanks for clearing that up!
Truly interesting and an ‘old’ disorder. I believe Freud or even Charcot wrote about this. Women who presented this disorder fell into the category of ‘hysterical women or men’. The word has lost his original meaning and is now (to my knowledge) mostly used as a not so positive term. You describing these very real bodily changes shed a more serious light on the matter. Thank you for this interesting post!
And given the root of the world hysterical is uterus, it all comes together rather well.
Even more interesting!
So interesting! What about when a woman is pregnant, stops menstruating, and gains weight… yet supposedly “doesn’t know” she is pregnant? You see these stories in the news from time to time.
Yeah that’s pretty weird.
Wow I’ve never heard of this. Thank you so much for sharing this!
I think because it’s so rare it seldom gets talked about.
I will admit I have never heard of this. it does seem hard to understand.
Yes it’s a very strange phenomenon.
Queen Mary I of England had a false pregnancy. I don’t think she ever had any children.
How interesting!
After two miscarriages during the time I was married, I was prone to feeling changes in my body all the time. I had gone through a false pregnancy when I was 35. I was convinced that I was pregnant, felt the morning sickness, certain smells had made me feel queezie, I was exhausted, and I felt what a body normally feels when pregnant.
I did at least 3 pee test, then finally a blood test. After a full examination, It was determined I was perimenopausal. It was also determined that I would never be able to become pregnant.
To be honest, this is pretty much when my mental health was starting to show to people who knew me best. The depression and anxiety was all too much to handle, but I never sought treatment.
My mother knew fully that there was mental health issues in my family at this time, yet never said a word about this until I hit rock bottom. My grandmother was mentally ill and back then the stigma was so harsh. But, you would think if I was conveying the same symptoms as my grandmother back then, my mother would have said something then when I was working and had insurance. Nope, I had to find out the “Family Secret” many years later.
Naturally, no one can change the past but it plays on my mind often. So much could have been prevented if my mother just opened up to me.
Sorry… Okay, done venting.
Sounds like very difficult stuff.
I was. But…. Such as life. 😒
Wow, I didn’t realise that this is a mental health illness. I’ve heard about false pregnancy but had thought it’s just something that some people experience. Similar to Meg, above, I got the same symptoms and I was told I was perimenopausal.
Oh that’s interesting.
Very interesting!
So interesting!I will admit I have never heard of this.
Yeah it’s definitely not a well known condition.
Truly interesting .