False pregnancy

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False pregnancy , also known as ghost or hysterical pregnancy , or pseudocyesis , is the appearance of clinical or subclinical signs and symptoms which is associated with pregnancy when the person is not actually pregnant. Fake pregnancies can sometimes be purely psychological. It is generally believed that false pregnancies are caused by changes in the body's endocrine system, which causes hormone secretion that causes physical changes similar to those that occur during pregnancy. Some men experience the same illness as women experience during pregnancy when their partner is pregnant (see Couvade syndrome), possibly caused by pheromones that increase estrogen, prolactin, and cortisol levels.

Video False pregnancy

Signs and symptoms

The symptoms of pseudocyesis are similar to the symptoms of true pregnancy and are often difficult to distinguish from it. Natural signs such as amenorrhoea, morning sickness, breast tendering, and weight gain can all be present. Many health care professionals can be fooled by symptoms associated with pseudocyesis. Research shows that 18% of women with pseudocyesis have been diagnosed pregnant by medical professionals.

The sign of pseudocyesis common to all cases is that the affected patient is convinced that she is pregnant. Abdominal distention is the most common physical symptom of pseudocyesis (60-90%). The abdomen expands in the same way as during pregnancy so that the affected woman looks pregnant. These symptoms often end in general anesthesia and the woman's abdomen returns to normal size.

The second most common physical sign of pseudocesis is menstrual irregularity (50-90%). Women are also reported to experience the sensation of fetal movement known as acceleration, although no fetus is present (50-75%). Other common signs and symptoms include gastrointestinal symptoms, breast changes or secretions, labor pain, uterine enlargement, and cervical softening. One percent of women end up having a fake delivery.

To be diagnosed as a true pseudocyesis, a woman must really believe that she is pregnant. When a woman deliberately and consciously pretends to be pregnant, it's called a simulated pregnancy.

Symptoms of pseudocyesis can also occur in men who have couvade syndrome.

Maps False pregnancy

Cause

There are various explanations, none of which are universally accepted because of the complex involvement of cortical, hypothalamic, endocrine, and psychogenic factors. The proposed mechanism includes the effects of stress on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, constipation, weight, and bowel gas movement.

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Treatment

Pseudocyesis is not known to have a direct underlying physical cause and there is no general recommendation regarding treatment with drugs. In some cases, however, patients may be given medications for symptoms such as menstrual cessation. When some patients with pseudocyesis have an underlying psychological problem, they should be referred to a psychotherapist to treat the problem. At the same time, however, it is important for the caring professional not to minimize the reality of the patient's physical symptoms. The most successful treatment shows the patient that she is not completely pregnant by using ultrasound or other imaging techniques.

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Epidemiology

The level of pseudocyesis in the United States has declined significantly in the last century. In the 1940s there was one occurrence for roughly every 250 pregnancies. This number has since fallen to between one and six occurrences for every 22,000 births. The average age of affected women is 33, although cases have been reported for girls as young as 6 and women as old as 79. More than two thirds of women who have pseudocyesis get married, and about one-third have become pregnant at least once.

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History

The case of pseudocyesis has been documented since antiquity. Hippocrates gave the first written account about 300 BC when he recorded 12 cases of women with the disorder. Mary I (1516-1558), Queen of England, is suspected of having two ghost pregnancies, but this is highly debated; some historians believe that the queen physician mistakes a fibroid tumor in her uterus for pregnancy, while others suspect a molar pregnancy (continuing to choriocarcinoma) or ovarian cancer is the cause. John Mason Good coined the term "pseudocyesis" from the Greek word pseudes (false) and kyesis (pregnancy) in 1823.

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See also

• Prejudice of pregnancy

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References

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Further reading

• Ramachandran, VS; Blakeslee, Sandra (August 18, 1999). Phantom in the Brain . pp.Ã, 212-218. ISBN 0-688-17217-2.
• Cohen, LM (September 1982). "Perspectives during pseudocyesis". The American Journal of Psychiatry . 139 (9): 1140-1144. doi: 10.1176/ajp.139.9.1140. ISSNÃ, 0002-953X. PMID 7114306.

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External links

• Paulman, PM; Sadat, A (1990). "Pseudocyesis". A Fam Pract . 30 (5): 575-6. PMID 2185336.
• Pseudopregnancy on RightDiagnosis.com
• Kanine Pregnancy and Pseudopregnancy at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
• Evans, DL; Seely, TJ (1984). "Pseudocyesis in men". J. Nerv. Ment. Dis . 172 (1): 37-40. doi: 10.1097/00005053-198401000-00008. PMID 6537816.

Source of the article : Wikipedia