False pregnancy, also known as pseudocyesis is quite a serious psychological and emotional condition afflicting some women. In this condition women who are not actually pregnant consider and believe themselves to be pregnant even when there may be no proof to support this belief. This condition is quite rare and is also called pseudopregnancy. In some cases women display symptoms of pregnancy even though they are not actually pregnant.

Causes of False pregnancy

Experts are of the opinion that some form of psychological and emotional problems cause pseudocyesis. It is often believed that false pregnancy can be experienced by women who have an intense and strong desire to get pregnant. This condition also stems from the intense desire to experience the pregnancy process. Women having false pregnancies tend to display symptoms of this condition at a time when their friends and relatives are themselves pregnant.

Some other factors such as the role of pituitary gland and the high level of hormones also cause this condition of false pregnancy to develop. The hormonal imbalance can be observed following stress and anxiety and this in turn results in marked psychological and emotional changes. All this causes the woman to falsely believe that she is pregnant.

Symptoms of false pregnancy

Many women who feel they are pregnant often claim to experience some symptoms. Some of them actually experience some of these symptoms. These may include such symptoms as morning sickness, breasts enlargement, cravings, abdomen widening and cessation of menstruation. Experts haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly the reasons for women experiencing pseudocyesis to display actual symptoms of pregnancy.

Diagnosis

A urine test will ordinarily refute the possibility of a woman being pregnant where a case of false pregnancy is involved. However many women experiencing false pregnancy continue to insist that they are pregnant. In some cases even the test comes out positive and so diagnosis becomes problematic.

Women who have tried to conceive for years without success are most likely to experience this condition. This is particularly true for women who are in their late thirties and early forties. Likewise women who are very emotional regarding pregnancy and who have emotional problems or who are emotionally unstable can possibly experience this condition. Women who have had a miscarriage or those who have lost their child can also experience this condition.

Treatment

For treating this condition psychological counseling is normally recommended so that the underlying psychological and emotional causes can be identified and handled. Treatment also handles underlying issues of anxiety and stress.