Journalist Flávia Vargas, 45 years old, says she went through at least 15 episodes of psychological pregnancy before giving birth to her only son, Rafael, 21 years old. “My breasts got bigger, I felt really nauseous, and my belly swelled up,” she says.
The irregular cycle and the fact that she might not take birth control pills, due to adverse reactions, led Flávia to be “certain” that she was pregnant whenever her period was late. Even taking pharmacy tests, which were negative, she only calmed down when her period started.
In one of the episodes, her belly grew so much that she believed she was expecting twins. In another, a secretion came out of one of her breasts. The symptom worried Flávia and made her make an appointment with the gynecologist. “Upon listening to my report, he said that, possibly, I was having a pseudocyesis (imaginary pregnancy)”, she says. “To me it sounded like nonsense. I had never heard of it”.
Convinced that the gynecologist was wrong, Flávia looked for another professional, but the diagnosis she received was the same. In addition, she was advised to urgently seek psychological treatment.
“I never imagined myself in that situation, although today I see that the diagnosis was obvious. But those who go through it, are not convinced. Are you sure you are pregnant, ”she explains.
psychological pregnancy
Psychological pregnancy, also called pseudocyesis, is a psychological disorder in which the woman is convinced that she is pregnant, even if tests prove otherwise. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)out of every 22,000 pregnancies, at least one is psychological.
According to gynecologist Carlos Moraes, in some way, not yet explained by science, the brain reacts to stimuli caused by changes in the emotional state and deregulates the production of female hormones.
The endocrine, cortical and hypothalamic functions begin to work as if, in fact, there was a pregnancy, which results in the symptoms of a real pregnancy. The symptoms are the same as in a normal pregnancy:
- Absence of menstruation;
- Nausea and morning sickness;
- Food cravings;
- Somnolence;
- Breast growth and pain;
- Increased appetite;
- Production of milk in the breasts;
- Abdominal distension.
Some women even feel movements in the abdomen, pains and contractions similar to those of childbirth.
Treatment
According to the psychiatrist, Danielle Admoni, women who have experienced trauma, such as sexual abuse, pregnancy loss or a child, are more prone to the condition. Those who experience pressure from partners or family members to become pregnant or have difficulties related to fertility are also more likely to experience a psychological pregnancy.
The psychologist also states that, generally, women affected by pseudocyesis have a history of psychological or psychiatric disorder, which further hinders the perception of reality.
Flávia says that the episodes of pseudocyesis only came to an end when she, in fact, became pregnant. “With therapy, I ended up accepting what happened to me. From then on, I stopped thinking I was pregnant every time my period was late, ”she concludes.
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