False pregnancy False pregnancy False pregnancy, also known as phantom, hysterical pregnancy, pregnancy scares or pseudocyesis, is the appearance of clinical or subclinical signs and symptoms associated with pregnancy when the person is not actually pregnant. False pregnancy may sometimes be purely psychological. It is generally believed that false pregnancy is caused by changes in the endocrine system of the body, leading to the secretion of hormones that cause physical changes similar to those during pregnancy. Some men experience the same illnesses as a woman would experience while pregnant when their partner is pregnant (see Couvade syndrome), possibly caused by pheromones that
Ovarian pregnancy physicians began taking more care in their descriptions and analysis of cases. Though numerous cases were evaluated, some failed to provide microscopic evidence and others failed to show the necessary histological changes of pregnancy, or failed on one or more of the criteria. In 1899, Catharine van Tussenbroek finally settled the question of the existence of ovarian pregnancy, by providing the first accurate clinical and histological description of a case. Though doubted, her results were confirmed three years later in a case by Thompson. Ovarian pregnancy Ovarian pregnancy refers to an ectopic pregnancy that is located in the ovary. Typically