Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-jtdwj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-27T17:49:19.564Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘False positive’: understanding pseudocyesis through old and new perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2025

Chrishanthy Grace Jayarajah Open the ORCID record for Chrishanthy Grace Jayarajah [Opens in a new window]
Chrishanthy Grace Jayarajah*
Affiliation:
CNWL Kensington and Chelsea Perinatal Mental Health Service, South Kensington and Chelsea Mental Health Centre, London, UK The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College, London
*
Email: c.jayarajah@nhs.net
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Pseudocyesis, also known as false pregnancy, is defined as the belief of being pregnant with physical signs and symptoms in the absence of a confirmed pregnancy. Notable cases include Queen Mary, who suffered from phantom pregnancies under societal pressure to conceive in the 16th century. Although now extremely rare, at its peak it accounted for 1 in 250 pregnancies following the Second World War, and was thought to be linked to heightened gender norms and sociocultural expectations around motherhood during this time. Pseudocyesis presents with complex and unique diagnostic challenges in clinical practice. It differs from delusional pregnancy, which is a fixed belief of pregnancy without physical signs or symptoms. The condition is often associated with infertility, psychological distress and neuro-endocrine conditions affecting the reproductive system. Management requires a multidisciplinary approach, integrating psychological support and addressing underlying reproductive health issues.

Keywords

Perinatal mental healthpsychosomatic illnesshistorical psychiatrywomen’s healthreproductive health

Information

Type
Feature
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , First View , pp. 1 - 5
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Kulcsar, DD. Pseudocyesis. Can Med Assoc J 1951; 64: 305–8.Google ScholarPubMed
History Skills. The ghostly pregnancies of Queen Mary I: a medical and historical mystery. History Skills, n.d. (https://www.historyskills.com/classroom/year-8/mary-i-phantom-pregnancies/).Google Scholar
Daley, MD. Pseudocyesis. Postgrad Med J 1946; 22: 395–9.10.1136/pgmj.22.254.395CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization. International Classification of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics 11th ed. WHO, 2022.Google Scholar
Bivin, G, Klinger, M. Pseudocyesis. Principia Press, 1937.Google Scholar
Barrett, G, Wellings, K. What is a ‘planned’ pregnancy? Empirical data from a British study. Soc Sci Med 2002; 55: 545–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharma, M, Singh, R, Sahu, S, Pruthi, S. Delusion of pregnancy: case series. Ind J Psychiatry 2024; 66: 576–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yadav, T, Balhara, YP, Kataria, DK. Pseudocyesis versus delusion of pregnancy: differential diagnoses to be kept in mind. Indian J Psychol Med 2012; 34: 82–4.10.4103/0253-7176.96167CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manjunatha, N, Sarma, PK, Math, SB, Chaturvedi, SK. Delusional procreation syndrome: a psychopathology in procreation of human beings. Asian J Psychiatr 2010; 3: 84–6.10.1016/j.ajp.2010.02.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trivedi, AN, Singh, S. Pseudocyesis and its modern perspective. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 1998; 38: 466–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubman, S, Goreczny, AJ, Brantley, PJ, Pevey, WJ. Pseudocyesis and depression. Etiological and treatment considerations. J La State Med Soc 1989; 141: 39–41.Google ScholarPubMed
O’Grady, JP, Rosenthal, M. Pseudocyesis: a modern perspective on an old disorder. Obstet Gynecol Surv 1989; 44: 500–11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grover, S, Sharma, A, Ghormode, D, Rajpal, N. Pseudocyesis: A complication of antipsychotic-induced increased prolactin levels and weight gain. J Pharmacol Pharmacother 2013; 4: 214–6.10.4103/0976-500X.114610CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baranowska, B, Baranowska-Bik, A, Bik, W, Martynska, L. The role of leptin and orexins in the dysfunction of hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal regulation and in the mechanism of hyperactivity in patients with anorexia nervosa. Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2008; 29: 37–40.Google ScholarPubMed
Jayarajah, CG, Seneviratne, T. Development of a mother and baby unit contraception assessment tool. Arch Womens Ment Health 2016; 19: 1129–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flanagan, PJ, Harel, Z. Pseudocyesis in an adolescent using the long-acting contraceptive Depo-Provera. J Adolesc Health 1999; 25: 238–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladipo, OA. Pseudocyesis in infertile patients. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 1979; 16: 427–9.10.1002/j.1879-3479.1979.tb00480.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deutsch, H. The Psychology of Women: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation. Grune & Stratton, 1944.Google Scholar
Christodoulou, GN. Pseudocyesis. Acta Psychiatr Belg 1978; 78: 224–34.Google ScholarPubMed
Forsbach, G, Güitron, A, Munoz, M, Bustos, H. Pituitary function in human pseudocyesis. J Endocrinol Invest 1987; 10: 39–43.10.1007/BF03347148CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarín, JJ, Hermenegildo, C, García-Pérez, MA, Cano, A. Endocrinology and physiology of pseudocyesis. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2013; 11: 39.10.1186/1477-7827-11-39CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pruneti, C, Guidotti, S. Cognition, behavior, sexuality, and autonomic responses of women with hypothalamic amenorrhea. Brain Sci 2022; 12: 1448.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Felker, A, Patel, R, Kotnis, R, Kenyon, S, Knight, M, eds. Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care: Compiled Report – Lessons Learned to Inform Maternity Care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity 2020–22. National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, 2024.Google Scholar
Thippaiah, SM, George, V, Birur, B, Pandurangi, A. A case of concomitant pseudocyesis and Couvade syndrome variant. Psychopharmacol Bull 2018; 48: 29–32.Google ScholarPubMed
Gaskin, IM. Has pseudocyesis become an outmoded diagnosis? Birth 2012; 39: 77–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nagle-Yang, S, Lebin, LG, Standeven, LR, Howard, M, Toscano, M. Reproductive psychiatry training: a critical component of access to perinatal mental health treatment. Semin Perinatol 2024; 48: 151949.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirst, JE, Witt, A, Mullins, E, Womersley, K, Muchiri, D, Norton, R. Delivering the promise of improved health for women and girls in England. Lancet 2024; 404: 11–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Womersley, K, Hockham, C, Mullins, E. The Women’s Health Strategy: ambitions need action and accountability. BMJ 2022; 378: o2059.10.1136/bmj.o2059CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fauser, BCJM, Adamson, GD, Boivin, J, Chambers, GM, de Geyter, C, Dyer, S, et al. Contributors and members of the IFFS Demographics and Access to Care Review Board. Declining global fertility rates and the implications for family planning and family building: an IFFS consensus document based on a narrative review of the literature. Hum Reprod Update 2024; 30: 153–73.10.1093/humupd/dmad028CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.