PSEUDOCYESIS

Pseudocyesis or "false pregnancy" is when a woman displays all of the signs of pregnancy, up to and sometimes including labor, when she is not, in fact, pregnant.

Women experiencing pseudocyesis have morning sickness, tender breasts, menstrual irregularity and cervical softening as if they were actually pregnant. In addition, the stomach distends via gas, urine, fecal or fat buildup, to mimic the typical gestational distention associated with true pregnancy. Many women with this malady actually experience quickening, the feeling of a fetus moving within their body.

There are many theories as to why pseudocyesis occurs. Primarily, false pregnancy is thought to have a psychodynamic cause. Women who desperately desire to be pregnant or who are plagued with fear of becoming pregnant are most likely to experience pseudocyesis.

There is no treatment for false pregnancy aside from psychotherapy, as there is no true underlying medical cause. Many women are helped by being shown ultrasounds proving that there is no child within them.

Women have been experiencing pseudocyesis for all of recorded history. In the 1940's 1 of every 250 pregnancies was thought to be false. The incidence is now down to between 1-6 of every 22,000 births.

The most famous pseudocyesis in history was that of Mary I of England who had many instances of false pregnancy during her reign due to her desperate desire to produce an heir to the crown. Some conjecture, however, that Mary I had fibroid tumors in her uterus which mimicked pregnancy as opposed to true false pregnancies of a purely psychological origin.

Pseudocyosis is an exceptional example of the interconnectedness of mind and body. However it is certainly in no way lethal. So, this sick gets a

1 on my "lethality scale" (1-10)

and a 4 on my "disturbing scale" (1-10)