Mock pregnancy: causes, symptoms and treatment

When to talk about a sham pregnancy and what people can do.

Breast tenderness, morning sickness and the menstrual period is absent? A clear case of pregnancy! Or?

What is a dummy pregnancy?

A woman believes that she is pregnant, develops the corresponding pregnancy symptoms without actually being pregnant – in this case, one speaks of a false pregnancy (also pseudogravity). Dr. tells us what affected women can do and what the psyche has to do with it Interview with med Christian Albring, President of the Professional Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Hanover.

BRIGITTE.de: What are the symptoms of a sham pregnancy?

Dr. med Christian Albring: "Pregnancy manifests itself in many subjective symptoms, such as the 'feeling' that you are pregnant, nausea, unusual food preferences, tightness in the chest, circulatory problems. without being pregnant.

If there is no clarification from a gynecologist, the 'feeling' of a growing uterus or the feeling of child movements can gradually be added.

There may be other causes for the possible symptoms. Nausea can also result from gastrointestinal flu or stress, breast tenderness due to weight gain or water retention, and last but not least, the most common cause of absence of bleeding – without pregnancy – is stress in any form. "

What are the causes of a sham pregnancy?

"It is estimated that up to 50 percent of all pregnancies are lost in the very first few weeks because of some fundamental disorder after the fertilized egg has been implanted. These women may feel a physical change caused by early pregnancy.

If the pregnancy ends early, it may take a while for the pregnancy signs to disappear.

The most common background for a sham pregnancy is the desire and willingness to get pregnant. Basically, the phenomenon of sham pregnancy can therefore be seen especially in women who wish to become pregnant and do not use contraception. Mock pregnancies in women who do not want a child and use reliable contraception are practically unknown. "

If there are typical symptoms of pregnancy, but a pregnancy test is negative, what should the affected person do? What can the doctor do?

"The pregnancy test provides information about a hormone that can be found more in the blood and urine during pregnancy. On the one hand, a reliable information is provided by the gynecological examination, because both the cervix and the uterus typically change when a pregnancy has occurred; on the other hand, by means of an ultrasound examination, whereby a amniotic sac is detected in the uterine cavity – or, for example, in the fallopian tube during an extrauterine pregnancy (Note d. R .: In the case of an extrauterine pregnancy, a fertilized egg cell nests outside of the uterus, which is often an egg Ectopic pregnant sheept). The ultrasound examination becomes reliable about two weeks after the menstrual period has stopped. If nothing is found at this point in the imaging process and the gynecological examination and hormone levels are negative, there is no pregnancy older than 8 days. "

How is fake pregnancy treated or what do you advise women who have experienced fake pregnancy?

"Basically, it is not uncommon for a woman to feel pregnant and not to do a pregnancy test at all, but to wait a while for menstrual periods to stop before going to the gynecologist. If nothing is found during the examination, that means not that there was no pregnancy, it could mean that the pregnancy just died very early, so women with such symptoms should never be considered psychologically abnormal.

It is a rare case that all medical reports speak against pregnancy, but that a woman still insists on being pregnant. There may be a disturbed perception of reality, perhaps caused by excessive grief despite many attempts not to become pregnant, the feeling of not being a full-fledged woman, the desire to save a partnership, or the like.

As a further approach, e.g. B. First, a check-up should be carried out in two weeks. If a woman continues to insist on her unreal feeling, psychotherapeutic help may make sense. "

With a psychological cause: where can women get help?

"A sensitive discussion is crucial even in gynecological practice. Gynecologists are specially trained for this. Specific advice on how to get pregnant could be given and help in practice or in a reproductive medicine center discussed. Psychotherapeutic work-up is another alternative."

Thank you, Dr. Albring!

A plea to people who ask questions without thinking

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Mock pregnancy and unfulfilled desire to have children

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In the BRIGITTE community you can share your experiences with others.