1) What is false pregnancy?
In a false pregnancy, the woman feels like she is pregnant. She has all the symptoms of pregnancy. However, she is definitely not pregnant. False pregnancy is one of the most surprising examples of how mental health can affect a person's body, and is diagnosed only with a negative blood pregnancy test.
2) What are the symptoms of false pregnancy?
Since the symptoms of a false pregnancy are the same as a real pregnancy, a woman who goes to the doctor without suspecting a false pregnancy may even think that she is pregnant. Even when the woman enters the 9th month, although she looks like a 9-month pregnant mother, there is no baby.
False pregnancy is a condition encountered in expectant mothers who desire to have a baby very much. In women who experience false pregnancy, it is said that the soul shapes the body. Women who want to be pregnant very much from a psychological perspective, but who cannot get pregnant due to having their uterus removed, having their tubes tied or similar reasons, often consult a doctor, thinking that they are pregnant. However, false pregnancy is nothing more than a psychological body shaping.
The symptoms of false pregnancy, which cannot be distinguished from normal pregnancy, are;
Absence of menstruation
Growing breasts, even nipples, change as if they were going to produce milk
Swollen belly
Nausea and vomiting
Feeling the baby's movements
Weight gain
False pregnancy cases usually last around a month or two. However, in some cases, it can last up to 9 months. It has even been observed that this situation lasts for many years. These cases generally occur when a doctor is seen with labor pains.
3) What is the treatment for false pregnancy?
In the treatment of false pregnancy, a psychiatrist and a gynecologist should cooperate. The necessary studies should be carried out for the treatment of a woman who has a false pregnancy problem. If a pregnancy test is performed on a woman who applies to a doctor for the reasons for false pregnancy and the pregnancy result is negative, the woman with the false pregnancy problem should be told about this in an appropriate manner, even in a loving manner. Another application that should be applied in the treatment of false pregnancy is related to the psychological dimension of the event. The psychological reasons for false pregnancy should be examined and the reasons that cause false pregnancy should be tried to be eliminated with psychotherapies.
If false pregnancy treatment cannot be performed even though false pregnancy has been proven with tests, then the patient should be psychologically controlled. At the same time, if deemed appropriate, antipsychotic medication should be used. It is stated that false pregnancy treatment will be completed in this way.
4) What tests can be used to detect false pregnancy?
The easiest and fastest way to determine a false pregnancy is, of course, ultrasound. The doctor takes the expectant mother to an ultrasound as usual. Since there is no baby or heartbeat during the ultrasound, a false pregnancy occurs.
5) Why does false pregnancy occur and who is affected?
Although the exact reason for the occurrence of false pregnancy is not yet known, doctors say that this condition is usually caused by psychological reasons playing tricks on the brain, causing the feeling of pregnancy.
False pregnancy is usually experienced by women who want to get pregnant, but cannot get pregnant due to infertility, and who have entered menopause. False pregnancy is also encountered in women who want to get married but cannot. In short, we can say that the brain of women who want to have a baby accepts that they are pregnant. Immediately after this, the hormones in the body change and all the stages of pregnancy are experienced by the woman.
According to various studies, false pregnancy can also occur due to reasons such as lack of education, poverty, and child rape.
In cases of false pregnancy, there is no connection with deception or schizophrenia. Women in false pregnancy situations do not pretend to be pregnant mothers. They believe that they are really pregnant.
False pregnancy is a very rare event, occurring on average in 1 to 6 out of 22,000 women. False pregnancy cases are not only seen in women. Although it is surprising, false pregnancy can also occur in men. This is called male postpartum. The father-to-be, whose wife is pregnant, identifies himself with his wife too much. It happens that they start to experience pregnancy symptoms together with their wife. Just like his wife, he also has nausea, food cravings, back pain and even gains weight.
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