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
Intercurrent disease in pregnancy in pregnancy is the propensity of pregnant women to develop thrombosis (blood clots). Pregnancy itself is a factor of hypercoagulability (pregnancy-induced hypercoagulability), as a physiologically adaptive mechanism to prevent "post partum" bleeding. However, when combined with any additional underlying hypercoagulable state, the risk of thrombosis or embolism may become substantial. Many infectious diseases have a risk of vertical transmission to the fetus. Examples include: Infections in pregnancy also raise particular concerns about whether or not to use drugs in pregnancy (that is, antibiotics or antivirals) to treat them. For example, pregnant women who contract H1N1 influenza infection are recommended to