The cause of fake pregnancy often confuses people

Pregnancy is usually a happy time for married couples. But pregnancy does not always end with a happy baby growing up healthy. Although this case is very rare, a woman thinks she is pregnant because the symptoms that appear are similar to pregnancy, but this does not happen. This is a condition called false pregnancy.

False pregnancy, clinically called pseudocyesis, involves the belief that you are carrying a baby when you are not really pregnant. People with pseudocytic conditions usually have many common symptoms that usually occur in pregnant women. From nausea, vomiting, weight gain and back pain.

Causes of fake pregnancy

Recently, doctors have begun to understand psychological and physical problems that cause pseudocytes or false pregnancy. Although the exact cause is still unknown, doctors suspect that psychological factors can cause the body to "feel" that its body is pregnant.

When a woman feels a strong desire to get pregnant, which may be caused by infertility, recurrent miscarriage, menopause or the desire to get married, her body can produce signs of pregnancy (such as a swollen abdomen, swollen breasts and even a sensation of fetal movements). .

The female brain misinterprets these signals as pregnancy and triggers the release of hormones, such as estrogen and prolactin, which cause symptoms of pregnancy.

In addition, other causes are also found to be causes of false pregnancy, including poverty, lack of education, sexual abuse in childhood or relationship problems that allow role playing and bodily conditions. occur.

However, it must be remembered that this false pregnancy is not the same as pretending that the pregnancy is useful or delirious pregnancy as happens in patients with schizophrenia.

False symptoms of pregnancy

Women who suffer from pseudocyesis will have many of the same symptoms as a mother who is truly pregnant, including:

Menstrual disorders
The stomach is getting bigger
Breast enlargement and soft, changes in the nipple, to allow milk production
A feeling of fetal movement
Nausea and vomiting
Gain weight

These symptoms can last for several weeks, nine months or even years. In fact, a small proportion of patients with fake pregnancies will come to the maternity center with complaints such as childbirth.

Fake pregnancy test

To determine whether a woman has a false pregnancy, the doctor will usually evaluate the symptoms, perform a pelvic examination and an ultrasound of the abdomen. The examination will be the same as that used to visualize the unborn baby during a normal pregnancy.

In the case of a false pregnancy, no baby will be seen with ultrasound and there will be no heartbeat. Sometimes the doctor will find some physical changes that occur during pregnancy, such as enlargement of the uterus and soft cervix. Remember also that a urine pregnancy test will always give negative results in this case.

False pregnancy treatment

When a woman thinks she has felt pregnant, especially for several months, it will be sad to know that she is not really pregnant.

In this way, the doctor must be very careful to explain the real conditions experienced without disappointing the patient. Also make sure to always provide psychological assistance, including therapy, to help patients with pseudocyticism recover from their disappointment.