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
Ectopic pregnancy a yolk sac and/or an embryo. Ectopic pregnancies where there is visualization of cardiac activity are sometimes termed "viable ectopic". The combination of a positive pregnancy test and the presence of what appears to be a normal intrauterine pregnancy does not exclude an ectopic pregnancy, since there may be either a heterotopic pregnancy or a "", which is a collection of within the endometrial cavity that may be seen in up to 20% of women. A small amount of anechogenic-free fluid in the recto-uterine pouch is commonly found in both intrauterine and ectopic pregnancies. The presence of echogenic fluid is