Definition: Pseudocyesis is the medical term used to describe a false pregnancy. Pseudocyesis occurs when a woman believes she is pregnant despite the fact that no pregnancy actually exists. Women who experience pseudocyesis frequently experience all of the symptoms and signs of a normal pregnancy including:
- absence of menstruation
- nausea or vomiting
- expansion of the lower abdomen
- fetal movement
Also Known As: false pregnancy, hysterical pregnancy, phantom pregnancy
Common Misspellings: psuedocyesis, suedocyesis, pseudo cyesis
Examples:
In a very unusual incident in April 2010, two North Carolina doctors performed a C-section on a woman who appeared at a hospital asking for the procedure. After two days of unsuccessful attempts to induce labor, the doctors performed the C-section and discovered the woman was not pregnant. The woman was experiencing pseudocyesis.
