Cryptic pregnancy

The term cryptic pregnancy is used by medical professionals to describe a pregnancy that is not recognized by the person who is pregnant until they are in labor or have given birth.[1] However, the term is also being used online for a special form of false pregnancy (pseudocyesis), or delusion of pregnancy, or phantom pregnancy, in which a person who has no medical verification of pregnancy, including biologically male individuals, believes that they are pregnant, sometimes for years.

Causes

The causes of medically cryptic pregnancies are either physiological, that is, there were no recognizable symptoms of pregnancy, or can be due to psychological problems. For example, denied pregnancy is a condition in which a woman is mentally unable to accept that she is pregnant and so may go part way or all the way through a pregnancy unconscious of her pregnancy. In some cases, that is linked to bipolar disorder or schizophrenia[4]. However, denied pregnancy is rare, Web MD cites that 1:400-500 pregnant women get to the fifth month of pregnancy before realizing they're pregnant and only 1:2,500 will go all the way to labor. [4]

Consequences

The major concern with medical cryptic pregnancies is a lack of prenatal care. This may result in harm to both developing fetus and the pregnant woman. A cryptic pregnancy does not allow the woman who is pregnant to prepare emotionally for parenthood, nor to decide if they want to be, or are ready to be, a parent. This could lead to in increased risk of child neglect or abuse.

In history

Pope Joan, a character from 14th century European literature, is said to have been a pope during the 9th century in the guise of a man, until she went into labor while on procession. Though modern scholars consider her to be a fictional character, it shows a recognition of medically cryptic pregnancies in the European Middle Ages.

Cryptic pregnancy as a delusion of pregnancy

The Gilmour Foundation ("the experts on cryptic pregnancy") has claimed that a cryptic pregnancy is one that is missed by pregnancy tests and ultrasounds because, in a cryptic pregnancy, the fetus develops much more slowly than normal, sometimes gestating for years, and not always in the uterus. The foundation has said that this causes the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone to be too low to be detected by medical tests and, because the pregnancy is smaller or located outside the uterus, it is missed on ultrasounds.[5] However, there is no medical literature to support the existence of cryptic pregnancy as described by the Gilmour Foundation. Rather, this type of "cryptic pregnancy" should be understood as a form of mental illness.[6]

Causes

For the most part, this form of cryptic pregnancy is a psychological issue, a form of mental illness related to a woman who really wants to be pregnant causing them to believe that they are, regardless of what medical professionals tell them and what test results show. Some people with this mental illness show symptoms of pregnancy, such as amenorrhea, weight gain, nausea, etc., which could be caused by the delusion or by its underlying cause.

Dr. Phil Show

Dr. Phil featured women on his talk show who believed they had been pregnant for years with a cryptic pregnancy. Despite negative urine and blood tests, and medical imaging of their abdomens showing no pregnancy, the women persisted in their belief they were pregnant, including one who had had a tubal ligation in her early 20's.[7] Dr. Thais Aliabadi was the expert guest on the show and explained that many women claim to have a cryptic pregnancy to explain physical symptoms they associate with pregnancy, such as weight gain in the abdomen, mood swings, sore breasts and food cravings.[8]

In history

Queen Mary I of England is rumored to have experienced false pregnancy, which may be considered cryptic, because she continued to believe she was pregnant past the expected due month. However, because of the limitations of medical technology, and the delicacy of inspecting the body of the queen, doctors would have had great difficulty in verifying a pregnancy, including whether it was a tumor or a molar pregnancy. During one of her false pregnancies, Mary believed herself to be pregnant for nearly a year after her period stopped, when suddenly her abdomen flattened without her going into labor.

See also

References
  1. "What is a Cryptic Pregnancy?". News-Medical.net. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  2. Unknowingly Pregnant Woman Attends Military Training | I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, retrieved 2019-11-12
  3. "Meet the Woman Who Didn't Know She Was Pregnant – Twice!". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  4. Goad, Kimberly. "Can You Be Pregnant and Not Know It?". WebMD. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  5. "What is a Cryptic Pregnancy and What Causes it?". Cryptic Pregnancy Support Group & The Gilmour Foundation. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  6. Yadav, Tarun; Balhara, Yatan Pal Singh; Kataria, Dinesh Kumar (2012). "Pseudocyesis Versus Delusion of Pregnancy: Differential Diagnoses to be Kept in Mind". Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 34 (1): 82–84. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.96167. ISSN 0253-7176. PMC 3361851. PMID 22661815.
  7. "A Woman Claims to Be Pregnant for 3 Years 7 Months". Dr. Phil. 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  8. Team, Her Warm Professional; life, Dr Aliabadi treats women through all phases of; Patient, Cherishes the Special One-on-One Relationship Between; doctor. (2019-09-12). "Woman to Dr. Phil: "I've Been Pregnant For 3 Years" featuring Dr. Aliabadi". Dr. Aliabadi, Los Angeles OBGYN, Surgeon. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
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