Phantom pregnancy can sound like a horror story.
You wake up one morning with morning sickness and nausea.
You’ve missed your period and you’ve even started to experience some food cravings.
So, you take the test and it shows a positive result!
But when the doctor brings out the ultrasound, there’s no baby to be found.
Phantom pregnancy is not just confusing or disappointing—it can be downright traumatising.
Here’s what every woman needs to know about this mysterious condition.
What Is Phantom Pregnancy?
Also known as false pregnancy, hysterical pregnancy or pseudo-pregnancy, pseudocyesis is a medical phenomenon where you can experience all the telltale signs of pregnancy, without actually being pregnant.
That is, you do not actually have a foetus or baby growing inside of you.
It is also one of the instances where a women might get a false positive result when taking a pregnancy test.
This condition is not to be confused with pregnancy delusion where a woman thinks she’s pregnant without experiencing any pregnancy symptoms at all.
However, there is a small overlap between the two when the cause of a phantom pregnancy is psychological in nature.
Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that women who experience false pregnancy are seldom mentally unsound as opposed to those who experience delusion.
The most mysterious thing about false pregnancy is that even single and unmarried women can experience it.
It can even happen if you’ve never or did not recently have unprotected intercourse.
Surprisingly, men also experience their own version of false pregnancy called Couvade syndrome or ‘sympathetic pregnancy’. This condition is common among expectant fathers.
What Causes A Phantom Pregnancy?
There could be a number of reasons why a woman can experience false pregnancy. Anything from medical conditions to psychological traumas.
In terms of actual physiological causes, a dysfunctional central nervous system is often to blame.
Stress can cause hormonal imbalances, often resulting in a rise in prolactin levels and the telltale signs of pregnancy.
Certain tumors and cysts, and hormonal disorders can cause pregnancy-like symptoms to occur as well.
Oftentimes, however, it is a purely mental phenomenon; a woman can literally think herself into getting pregnant and her mind will trick her body into believing it is.
Sometimes it can be a combination of many causes (psychological and hormonal). Only a proper medical examination can root out the true cause.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no ‘vanishing baby’ in a false pregnancy because there is no foetus to begin with. Unless they go through something called a chemical pregnancy.
This is where a miscarriage happens so early on during a pregnancy that the body has not yet had time to react.
Unlike the true phantom pregnancy, chemical pregnancy does not come with pregnancy symptoms (aside from a missed period).
However, in rare cases it does show positive (or rather false positive) test result if you were to take a pregnancy test.
How Common Is Phantom Pregnancy?
Phantom pregnancies are very rare.
According to this study, false pregnancies occur between 1 to 6 cases per 22,000 births in the United States. There are no global numbers for this medical mystery as of yet.
Pregnancy delusion, on the other hand, is much more common.
Which may be why some healthcare professionals in the past may have been quick to pin false pregnancies on psychological causes than hormonal or physiological ones.
If you’re worried about possibly getting a false pregnancy, do not worry. The chances of that happening are probably less than 1%.
But if you are reading this and worry that you might already be experiencing one, then a trip to the doctor is crucial.
While often harmless, phantom pregnancies can sometimes be a sign of life-threatening medical conditions that need to be addressed as soon as possible.
How Do Phantom Pregnancy Symptoms Differ From Real Pregnancy Symptoms?
The mysterious thing about false pregnancy is that the symptoms typically mimic actual pregnancy symptoms.
Just like with true pregnancy, false pregnancy exhibits most, if not all, the telltale signs: a missed period, nausea, morning sickness, weight gain and tenderness of breasts.
Oftentimes, these symptoms may even be accompanied by a positive pregnancy test result (but not always).
In more serious cases, some women have even reported experiencing lactation, foetal movement (baby kicking), and even labour pains.
Some studies have also found that women’s bellies actually grow to reflect the normal stages of pregnancy—even though there’s nothing growing inside them.
This is the result of the body’s internal ecosystem being thrown into chaos due to high amounts of psychological stress.
However, one difference marked by studies show that, according to blood tests, hormonal changes are much more unpredictable in false pregnancies than true pregnancies.
You will not find stable amounts of pregnancy hormones (e.g. progesterone, follicle stimulating hormone, oestrogen, and luteinising hormone) in a false pregnancy than you would in a normal one.
Those who never get properly tested by a medical professional can go weeks, if not months, with these symptoms.
It is only after they have undergone the full duration of a normal pregnancy that the symptoms mysteriously vanish.
How Do Doctors Treat Phantom Pregnancies?
Because there can be so many causes for false pregnancies, a good doctor will usually perform a thorough medical examination before jumping to any conclusions.
Some causes can indeed be physical in nature e.g. abdominal tumor, gallstones, achlasia, constipation, hyperprolactinemia, paraovarian cyst.
If this is the case, then surgery and medication are needed.
In majority of cases, treating the underlying cause also cures the false pregnancy, causing symptoms to disappear.
However, if the doctor has ruled out any physiological or hormonal causes, then they will usually recommend psychological treatment.
This can involve one or a combination of the following: psychotherapy, medication (antipsychotics or antidepressants), emotional support from family members, and very rarely uterine curettage.
The doctor may recommend hormone therapy to help deal with the physical symptoms of the false pregnancy like nausea, distended (bloated) stomach, etc.
Studies have found that treatment tends to be much more successful if the patient wants to get better.
If the doctor recommends psychiatric help, it’s important not to be apprehensive. False pregnancies may often arise from deep-rooted, repressed trauma.
Otherwise, you may experience another false pregnancy and go through the same cycle of heartbreak again and again.
Are Some Women More Prone to Phantom Pregnancies?
Unless you have a predisposition to any of the possible underlying medical conditions mentioned thus far, then you will not be any more vulnerable to false pregnancy than the next woman.
However, when discussing psychological causes, false pregnancies are usually common among women who have intense trauma around motherhood and marriage.
Societal and familial pressure (often covertly expressed) also does tend to contribute to the problem.
Both external and self-imposed expectations can create stress and therefore, make false pregnancy that much more likely if all other factors are met.
But in general, women who are more susceptible to experiencing false pregnancies tend to exhibit the following criteria:
- strong/intense/desperate desire to have a child
- fear or anxiety about getting pregnant
- a history of miscarriages or infertility
- a history of failed attempts at getting pregnant
- grief or depression usually at the loss of a spouse
- history of domestic/childhood sexual abuse
- low socioeconomic background
- rigid cultural and religious ideas around pregnancy
The list goes on and on, but you get the gist.
Because of this, doctors always tend to treat false pregnancies as a psychological phenomenon.
But a good doctor will always check first to see if it’s not ‘just in your head’ and may actually be a sign of something much more serious.
As untoward as this may sound, some women may have once been a victim of medical gaslighting.
So, even if you know for a fact that you are experiencing a false pregnancy, don’t let the doctor easily dismiss your symptoms.
How Can You Prevent Phantom Pregnancies?
If the false pregnancy is caused by a cancer or hereditary condition, then there’s likely little you can do to prevent it other than maintain a healthy lifestyle.
However, actual physiological causes of false pregnancy are rare.
They are almost always psychological in nature (or more precisely, psychosomatic); the power of the mind affecting the body in inexplicable ways.
That said, the best course of action is to be aware of your own traumas and anxieties around pregnancy.
That’s why seeing a therapist is important for most adults.
Sometimes our traumas are buried so deep in our body’s memories that we do not know they are there until they manifest as physical symptoms, like a cry for help.
We’ve long understood the effect of the mind on the body. Stress, for instance, has always been linked to high cortisol levels (resulting in weight gain, acne and hair loss).
If you are having trouble conceiving, do not let it rule your life.
It’s also important to find an identity outside of being a mother if you experience prolonged fertility struggles.
Fend off societal pressures by setting proper boundaries against family members or friends who may propagate unhealthy expectations for women.
Dealing with ‘Vanishing Babies’
Finding out that you were never pregnant after getting a positive test result can be disappointing.
But actually experiencing those happy signs of imminent motherhood, only to find out it’s all a very convincing illusion is downright devastating.
If you’re worried about this potentially happening to you, don’t worry too much. False or phantom pregnancy is actually quite rare.
As long as you keep a positive attitude about pregnancy and ease the pressure that comes with it, you likely won’t have to worry about vanishing babies any time soon.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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