Psychological pregnancy, also called pseudopregnancy or pseudocyesis, is a condition in which a woman has the same symptoms as pregnancy, although she is not pregnant. Thus, lack of menstruation, nausea, belly growth, and even darkening of the nipples, breast growth and milk production; can occur.
This condition is usually related to the great fear of not getting pregnant, or the opposite: the extreme desire to be a mother. In many situations, it occurs when a woman faces successive attempts to get pregnant, but without success. Thus, she can somatize this desire, presenting an organic, behavioral and sensational picture, as if she were pregnant.
This situation can be a great inconvenience for the woman, the supposed future father, family and friends; when they realize that this is not a real picture – especially if the woman refuses to accept the reality. Thus, support and affection are essential, especially from the partner. It is also important to work with her the idea of seeing a psychologist, as a way of not extending too much such pregnancy, at the risk of maintaining it until the time of delivery, which can be a very traumatic and suffered. In addition, therapy may be important to ascertain whether pseudocyesis is related to some other psychological problem.
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In extreme cases, hormonal treatment may be necessary in order to trigger menstruation and, in situations that include other psychological disorders, such as depression, it may be necessary to use others pharmaceuticals.
The simplest way to detect it is through the HCG test, since only truly pregnant women have a positive result.
Psychological, sexual and socio-environmental problems can also be related to pseudopregnancy. Some experts even suggest that this picture may indicate polycystic ovary syndrome, uterine tumors or cancer, and ovarian and hormonal disorders.
By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
ARAGUAIA, Mariana. "Psychological pregnancy"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biologia/gravidez-psicologica.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
