Causes and symptoms of someone experiencing false pregnancy (pseudocyesis) & bull; hello healthy

False pregnancy or pseudocyesis is a condition that makes a woman believe that she is pregnant, even though she is not. It even has many of the common symptoms of pregnancy. However, this was not caused by a miscarriage. In a false pregnancy, the woman is not pregnant and has never had a baby. Despite this, symptoms can last long enough to make a woman, and even those around her, believe that she is pregnant.

What causes the condition of false pregnancy?

Recently, doctors have begun to understand that psychological and physical problems are at the root of pseudocyesis. Although the exact cause is not known, doctors suspect that psychological factors may trick the body into "thinking" that pregnancy has occurred.

When a woman feels a strong desire or even fear of pregnancy, the woman's brain misinterprets the signal as pregnancy, and triggers the release of hormones, such as estrogen and prolactin, which can cause actual pregnancy symptoms. Some researchers have suggested that poverty, lack of education, sexual abuse, or relationship problems may play a role in triggering false pregnancies.

What are the symptoms of a false pregnancy?

Pseudocyesis often resembles a real pregnancy, in all respects, except for the presence of a baby. In all cases of pseudocyesis that occur, the woman is absolutely sure that she is pregnant. Physically, the most common symptom is a distended stomach, similar to being pregnant with a baby. The stomach can start to enlarge just like pregnancy when the baby starts to grow and develop. During false pregnancy, this enlargement of the stomach is not caused by the presence of a baby, but is caused by a buildup of:

Gas
Fat
Dirt
Urine

Irregularity of a woman's menstrual cycle is the second most common physical symptom. About half of women who experience false pregnancies report the feeling of a baby moving. Many of them also said that there was also a feeling of a baby kicking, despite the fact that there was never a baby there. Other symptoms that can occur in a false pregnancy are similar to the symptoms of actual pregnancy, namely:

Morning sickness and vomit
Breast pain
Breast changes (including size and pigmentation)
Lactation, the breasts secrete milk
Weight gain
The navel sticks out
Increased appetite
Enlarged uterus
Softening of the cervix

These symptoms closely resemble that of a woman who is actually pregnant, that doctors can sometimes be fooled.

A test to detect the condition of a false pregnancy

To determine whether a woman has a false pregnancy, doctors usually evaluate the symptoms, namely by performing a pelvic examination and abdominal ultrasound. The same test is used to feel and see an unborn baby during normal pregnancy

In the case of a false pregnancy, no baby will be seen on the ultrasound, and there will be no heartbeat. Sometimes, the doctor will indeed find some physical changes that occur during pregnancy, such as an enlarged uterus and a softened cervix. A pregnancy urine test will always be negative in this case, with the exception of a rare hormone-producing cancer similar to pregnancy. Certain medical conditions that can mimic pregnancy symptoms are ectopic pregnancy, morbid obesity, and cancer. This condition may be seen with tests.

Is there any treatment for false pregnancy?

In fact, showing evidence that a woman is truly not pregnant, through imaging techniques such as ultrasound, is the most successful way to bring this false pregnancy to an end. False pregnancy is not considered a physical problem, but psychological, so there are no general recommendations for treating it with drugs. However, if a woman experiences symptoms such as irregular menstruation, medication can be prescribed.

False pregnancy seems to occur in women who experience psychological instability. For that, they must be treated with a psychotherapist for treatment.