What is a Phantom Pregnancy?

Cessation of menstruation, nausea, weight gain … A phantom pregnancy symptoms identical to those of a real pregnancy. In one detail: no child is to come. An update on this rare disorder.

Phantom pregnancy: What is it exactly?

The phantom pregnancy, also known as scientific “pseudocyesis,” is a very rare psychological disorder whose causes have not been established beyond a reasonable doubt. It is reflected by the appearance of pregnancy symptoms (nausea, weight gain, cessation of menstruation …) while there was no design.

“Pregnancy is a nervous sort of compromise between two opposing tendencies: on the one hand, a strong desire to have a child and, on the other, physically unable to conceive,” says Irene Bleton, a psychoanalyst who looks at issues surrounding pregnancy for over 20 years. In some cases, this impossibility is obvious – no sex or menopause – and yet the person is convicted of being pregnant. Also, a woman who is terrified of falling pregnant while feeding inside a strong desire to conceive a child might develop a false pregnancy. “In both cases, there is a conflict tearing around the idea of ​​pregnancy may give birth to this mental disorder,” says psychologist Ludmila Girvan.

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