False pregnancy, also known as pseudocyesis, is a rare phenomenon in humans where a woman experiences pregnancy symptoms but is not actually pregnant. It is believed to be psychologically driven, and there is no definitive cure. Mental health professionals may be consulted, but there is no widely used treatment.
A false pregnancy is a phenomenon in which a woman experiences many of the symptoms of pregnancy but is, in fact, not pregnant. This phenomenon, also known as hysterical pregnancy, is not particularly common in humans, but does occur in other mammals. When a human woman experiences a false pregnancy, the phenomenon is referred to as pseudocyesis. When other species experience false pregnancies it is called pseudopregnancy. When a woman experiences a false pregnancy, she usually strongly believes that she is pregnant and she also has a number of physiological symptoms to support the belief.
One of the hallmarks of pregnancy, the development of the “big bump” in the abdominal region, is often seen in women who experience false pregnancies. Abdominal distension is one of the reasons why you and, in some cases, people around you believe you are pregnant. An examination by a doctor, particularly with the use of ultrasound technology, can determine that there is no fetus in the woman’s uterus. Some women also experience morning sickness, breast pain and absence of periods, all symptoms of pregnancy. Some women who have had false pregnancies have also reported the sensation of fetal movements.
It is widely believed that, in humans, a false pregnancy is psychologically driven. There are some theories that a false pregnancy could be the result of a deep desire to have a child. There is currently, however, no theory accepted by all and there are even some cases that breach some existing theories. There are some women, for example, who experience false pregnancies but say they have no desire to have a child.
Just like there is no definitive cause of false pregnancy, there is no definitive cure either. In many cases, a woman experiencing a false pregnancy will be referred to a mental health professional. The treatments provided by mental health professionals can vary quite a bit and there is no widely used and known mental health treatment to cure false pregnancy. There are some statistics that point to specific age groups that are at higher risk of false pregnancy. But there are also reports that there are outliers, proving that there is not one age group that exclusively experiences this phenomenon.
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