The psychological pregnancy, Pseudociesis or false pregnancy is a disorder that develops symptoms of pregnancy in women who are not really in a state of pregnancy. Its most common symptoms are amenorrhea, positive pregnancy test, increased hunger and weight, or lordosis.
The case of psychological pregnancies does not belong exclusively to human beings. In fact, the species of animals that are known to have a greater tendency to develop a psychological pregnancy are dogs, cats and rabbits.
Psychological pregnancies occur approximately 1 to 6 times every 22,000 births. It is estimated that the average age that gives rise to a case of psychological pregnancy is approximately thirty-three years.
Although there are multiple profiles of women who can suffer a case of false pregnancy, normally these people have a partner and a project to start a family. Sometimes a previous pregnancy has occurred.
This picture is not a disorder that has been recently described, since there is evidence that Hippocrates in 300 BC described a dozen cases.
The main tests that confirm the non-existence of a pregnancy and that make professionals consider the possibility that the patient suffers a psychological pregnancy are the absence of a fetal heartbeat or absence of the fetus in ultrasound scans..
Psychological pregnancy does not respond exclusively to a physical or psychological disorder. In fact, false pregnancies take place due to the interrelation of both factors.
The diagnosis of pseudocyesis responds to that of unspecified somatoform disorder according to DSM-IV.
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Next, we will see a series of symptoms and characteristics that can take place in a case of psychological pregnancy. As when we are faced with any diagnosis, the person does not have to present all the listed symptoms and characteristics, these will serve as a support to detect a case of psychological pregnancy.
There is a hidden emotional need that can be perceived through the physical symptoms that we will see later in this post. Carrying out a review of cases, I find that a large part of the women who suffer a psychological pregnancy respond to a profile of people lacking affection.
Also, there are cases in which these women feel a strong desire to be mothers, thinking that, in this way, they will strengthen their relationship as a couple or that, in this way, they will feel more satisfied with themselves by having fulfilled their expectations of being mother.
On other occasions, women who have a psychological pregnancy are people who feel certain fears and insecurities about pregnancy.
In contrast to these profiles, psychological pregnancy can also occur in cases in which women live very closely with the pregnancy of someone very close, be it a family member or a friend..
As has been confirmed, the common link between these profiles is that of a woman who suffers from certain emotional deficiencies or has difficulties to manage her emotions in an adequate way.
Some of them may suffer from alexithymia, which is the inability to experience pleasure and enjoy certain emotions. Also, cases of psychological pregnancies may be related to others in which there is a basic depressive symptomatology.
More commonly known as absence of menstruation. In some cases, it does not consist in the total disappearance of the period, but rather it decreases the menstrual flow. This fact is called hypomenorrhea.
This symptom is caused by the alteration of the luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones. Both produce the arrest of the menstrual cycle and, therefore, the cessation of ovulation.
These women, when taking a pregnancy test at home, obtain a positive result in it. The reason for this result is due to the increase in gonadotropins.
These hormones are housed in the hypothalamus and this fact shows us the strong effect that the mind exerts on the body, such as that it is capable of giving a positive result in a pregnancy test without having produced a real conception..
From this moment on, women who suffer a psychological pregnancy will begin to develop the symptoms that are more linked to the management process and that occur throughout it..
Increased levels of the hormones prolactin and progesterone lead to certain symptoms that occur in an actual pregnancy. They are as follows:
-Increase in the size of the breasts, as well as the feeling that they are more sensitive. Also, they may experience color change of the same.
-Breast milk secretion may occur.
-Nausea, such as those that usually occur in the first trimester of pregnancy, especially first thing in the morning.
-Tiredness and fatigue It is common for them to feel fatigued doing some physical activity and require more rest than the body itself is used to in other circumstances..
Softening of the cervix occurs with signs of congestion. Also, there is an increase in the volume of the uterus. These size changes take place between six weeks and eight months.
Cravings and increased hunger are common, as they usually occur in a real pregnancy situation. This fact is consistent with the following symptom.
Weight gain occurs. An increase that can be even greater than that of a real pregnancy. The belly is likely to take a shape that resembles the belly of a pregnant woman.
In cases of psychological pregnancies, as opposed to real pregnancies, there is no inversion of the navel. This fact in real pregnancies takes place between the fifth and sixth month and is an indication of how the fetus is preparing for the moment of delivery..
These women experience the subjective sensation of fetal movements.
The fact that the lumbar spine curves inward is called lordosis. This occurs due to the weight gain that takes place and is the way that the body naturally takes to adopt a more comfortable posture without causing damage or injury..
Women who suffer a psychological pregnancy often experience various sleep disorders such as insomnia. These can take place due to the state of anxiety they experience or due to the discomfort they feel when lying down due to the increase in the belly and the difficulty of adopting a comfortable posture during so many hours of sleep.
It is common, as in the case of a natural pregnancy, to suffer from heartburn and other gastrointestinal problems such as constipation..
Throughout the course of the psychological pregnancy, the contractions typical of childbirth can take place, as well as the pain suffered by women who are going to give birth.
Health personnel alert to the existence of a psychological pregnancy when an ultrasound of the woman's belly is performed and in this way, it is verified that there is no fetus.
At this time, the affected person is shown so that they can realize themselves that they are not going through a pregnancy. This test can also be accompanied by the sample that, through the ultrasound, the fetal heartbeat is not perceived.
Another way to show that there is no real pregnancy is by performing the Leopold maneuvers. These are performed by the obstetrician to determine the situation of the fetus in the last months of pregnancy. There are four maneuvers that must be performed by experienced professionals in order not to harm the fetus.
In these cases, it is very important that healthcare personnel exert the delicacy and understanding that the situation requires. It is important to be patient and explain it calmly, creating a climate in which the woman feels understood.
It may happen that these women require the attention and treatment of a psychology professional to deal with this circumstance..
The sooner the existence of this disorder is detected, the sooner the measures required by the situation can be taken. The early diagnosis of a case of psychological pregnancy will contribute to a lower anxiety and depressive state of the patient, factors that will be predictors of a better recovery.
On occasions, psychological treatment can be accompanied by the action of dopaminergics that will contribute to the bleeding and thus, the woman will be able to become aware of the non-existence of a real pregnancy.
Psychological pregnancy differs from cases of delusions of pregnancy because, although there are common symptoms, in the case of psychological pregnancy there are physical symptoms. What happens in cases of delusions of pregnancy is that it is a psychotic disorder and there are no physical symptoms or there is no organic change.
These women suffer from delusions and hallucinations that make them believe they are pregnant. In this case, the treatment is carried out through antipsychotic drugs..
As far as men are concerned, there is a disorder that is related to this symptomatology and that is called Couvade syndrome, which comes from the French word couver and which means to raise, incubate.
In this syndrome, what happens is that men experience symptoms related to the symptoms of a woman who is pregnant. It is suffered by men whose partners are pregnant and it occurs in the third month of pregnancy or in the weeks before delivery.
In this picture, the most common symptoms these men experience are weight gain, cravings, a state of increased irritability and sensitivity, toothaches, cramps, nausea and dizziness, abdominal pain, and even refusal to drink. taste of some foods, as well as certain smells.
Women who experience a psychological pregnancy does not mean that they have some problem that prevents them from being mothers. If there is any incidence related to fertility, it is not directly related to this disorder.
Similarly, the fact that a woman suffers a psychological pregnancy is not an indication that the person who has suffered it develops a disability that prevents her from becoming pregnant in the future..
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