Phantom (False) Pregnancy

Phantom or false pregnancy is the given name for condition when a woman feels the physical and psychologic symptoms of pregnancy but, there is no pregnancy. During false pregnancy, patient can show symptoms such as, not having menstruation, nausea, increase in breast size, food craving and other symptoms of pregnancy but on this case there is no actual pregnancy, this has an impact on the patient’s physical and emotional condition. This condition can be diagnosed by checking beta HCG level via blood test, because in normal pregnancy beta HCG should increase however on false pregnancy beta HCG level do not increase. This can be disappointing for those who wants to become pregnant.

On some cases, patient can have the appearance of 9 months pregnant, she can even have the same symptoms, they can even have milk spilling from nipples, this condition can be explained by act out of an psychological problem. People, repeating miscarriages, had hysterectomy, with blocked tube and some other conditions commonly experience false pregnancy. Before answering what is false pregnancy, we should understand what false pregnancy is.

What is False Pregnancy?

Colloquially, people say false pregnancy to the phantom pregnancy, this is given name to the condition when a woman feels that she is pregnant but is not actually pregnant. It is hard to convince a woman who has false pregnancy to that, she is not actually pregnant. She can be persistent on that she is pregnant, despite all the laboratory and ultrasound examinations. She can even say that physician cannot see the baby on ultrasound, but she can. Psychological reasons contribute on forming false pregnancy.

Women, who are obsessed or scared about getting pregnant are more prone to have false pregnancy. Women who had hysterectomy which means that her uterus is taken out and she cannot get pregnant in any way, or if her tubes are closed and she cannot become pregnant naturally they can also have false pregnancy. Also, peer-pressure is another reason that may cause false pregnancy. Physical symptoms of false pregnancy are identical with normal pregnancy, women with false pregnancy can have symptoms like, nausea, food craving, vomiting, tiredness, sensitivity towards scent and colours, breast size may increase, she can gain weight, her belly-button can turn she can even have milk spills from nipples. In this way, false pregnancy has exactly same symptoms with normal pregnancy.

Generally, abdominal swelling is caused by the gas, fat and stool, this causes one to think that she is pregnant. One other common symptom is not having menstruation. Many says that they can feel the “baby” move and even their heart bear, there are no certain causes of this but generally false pregnancy is related with either psychology and rarely with endocrinological or central nerve system disorders. On the gynaecological examination, additional laboratory and ultrasound imaging if the physician sees no sign of pregnancy, this should be told to the woman carefully, she should also consult with psychologist. Men can also have false pregnancy; this is related with over-empathy to his partner and generally occurs after she gives birth. Rarely, this can happen simultaneously at partners. Characteristically, men have symptoms like gaining weight, back and abdominal pain and food craving.

How to Understand False Pregnancy?

Almost at every age, false pregnancy can be seen, it is more common to have false pregnancy at mid-thirties. Woman with infertility problems, have miscarriage history or have been told that she cannot become pregnant are more likely to have false pregnancy. However, women who never had menstruation or in the menopause period can experience false pregnancy. Nowadays, false pregnancy is seen rarely compared to before. As the false pregnancy has same symptoms with normal pregnancy, if it is not check medically it would not be possible to identify. Person can convince herself and others around her that she is pregnant easily. However, because today we have more advanced technologies in laboratories and in ultrasound imaging, it is easier to convince patient that she is not pregnant.

False pregnancy gives negative result of the pregnancy test that are applied at home. Woman may be convinced easily, however if she is not convinced she may would like to apply to a physician. On the gynaecological examination, it becomes clear that she is not pregnant, however for the definite diagnoses beta HCG test results are awaited and on the ultrasound examination, seeing no gestational sac in the uterus gives a definite answer for the pregnancy. Especially, with the new technology ultrasounds gives much clearer image of the uterus, woman can be convinced much easier.

How Does False Pregnancy Formed?

On average, false pregnancy is seen on 1 in 22.000 woman, it still unknown what causes false pregnancy, it is generally thought that psychological reasons causes false pregnancy. Phantom pregnancy or false pregnancy, generally seen on woman who is obsessed about getting pregnant, woman who has any kind of infertility problem and peer-pressure can cause false pregnancy. Woman who cannot medically become pregnant may experience false pregnancy such as those who are in menopause or those who never had menstruation. Therefore, false pregnancy is situation should be explained to the patient, clearly and cautiously.

How Does False Pregnancy Treated?

False pregnancy can be diagnosed with the blood tests and laboratory tests. Then the patient should get a psychological consultation and be convinced about this situation. Reasons that may have caused false pregnancy should be explained to the patient by a physician. Generally those causes are, fear, desire and anti-climax or the emotions may have cause false pregnancy as well such as depressiveness, major depression or psychotic condition be the cause. Therefore, once the diagnoses of false pregnancy is given to a patient, you should consult with an psychologist or psychiatrist, to get treatment.

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