Some women have all the signs of pregnancy, but the examinations show that they ... are not pregnant. This is a phenomenon of a false pregnancy, well known to doctors and psychologists.

The most interesting cases of false pregnancy.

The syndrome of false pregnancy (pseudocyles) is known for a long time. 12 similar episodes are described by the famous Hippocrates. Queen of England Maria Tudor, eager to have an heir, "pregnant" several times, and everything looked very natural. But childbirth never came.

In 2013, a 37-year-old mother of two turned to the doctors. She was previously diagnosed with pregnancy, but at the 41st week the fetus suddenly stopped beating. The woman was urgently given a cesarean section, but the uterus was empty! And after all the child was visible on ultrasonic, and even a floor it have defined - the boy ... What occurs to women during false pregnancy?.

Symptoms of false pregnancy often completely coincide with the symptoms of the present: monthly stops, nausea, taste, taste changes, breast swells, weight increases and stomach grows. Added and such characteristic signs, as fatigue and sharp changes of mood. But the examination shows that there is no fruit.

False pregnancy usually lasts from 3 to 3.5 months, but it can take longer. The abdomen can grow due to the development of subcutaneous fat, as well as atony (disruption of the intestine). Because of this, a woman may even feel that she feels the movement of the fetus inside. "Sometimes patients with pseudo-cysts even have positive pregnancy tests," says Dr. Paul Poulman, a family doctor who works at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. "These patients register all the signs of pregnancy, except for three: you do not hear the heart rhythms of the embryo, you do not see it in the ultrasound study, and the child does not appear to light".

Causes of false pregnancy Sigmund Freud believed pseudo-sexes solely a psychiatric problem. He described in detail the case of Anna O. , who believed that she was pregnant with her previous psychoanalyst, Joseph Breuer. Freud called this phenomenon a "transfer", and subsequently it became one of the cornerstones of the Freudian theory.

Pseudocytes often occurs in women who are very eager to have a baby, or, on the contrary, are afraid to get pregnant. There are cases when the provoking factor is the proximity of menopause, abortion or miscarriage, sometimes the pregnancy of a friend, colleague or relative.

Dr. Biju Basil, a psychiatrist from the University of Drexel, talks about false births that occurred in a woman while her friend's son gave birth. "She started fights," he described this case. "She was pregnant before and said she feels the same way she did then". The doctor suggested that this was a consequence of the patient's desire to participate as fully as possible in the birth of her first grandson.

The cause of false pregnancy may be and the so-called secondary amenorrhea - this is when the menstrual cycle stops for 6 months and more. Usually, such pathology is accompanied by various ailments that a woman takes for pregnancy.

These symptoms may be the result of stresses and significant loads - both physical and moral.

Researchers from the University of Michigan found that in a false pregnancy, as in normal, the body increases the concentration of certain hormones, for example, estrogen and prolactin. According to Dr. Mary Erskine, a biologist at the University of Boston who deals with neurology of reproductive systems, anxious emotions can be the impetus for establishing a subtle connection between the mind and the body. "Stress can really affect the regularity of the ovulation cycle," she says..

However, the aforementioned Dr. Poulman believes that modern science still knows very little about the causes of false pregnancy, since in most cases, pathology is related to the work of the brain. "The pituitary gland is located right at the base of the brain, and it is from there that all the hormones come during pregnancy," he says.. "This is one of the classic examples in medicine, how the mind affects the body".

If you notice signs of pregnancy, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. The fact that an imaginary pregnancy can also testify to a serious illness - for example, inflammation or a tumor of the ovaries. If you have not found any physiological reasons for a false pregnancy, then you have a direct road to a psychologist or a psychotherapist. Often in such situations prescribe sedatives and hormonal treatment.

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