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
Pregnancy from rape use a woman's pregnancy as a legal defense to "prove" that he could not have raped her, since her pregnancy was thought to mean that she had enjoyed the sex and, therefore, consented to it. In recent decades, some pro-life organizations and politicians (such as Todd Akin) who oppose legal abortion in cases of rape have advanced claims that pregnancy very rarely arises from rape, and that the practical relevance of such exceptions to abortion law is, therefore, limited or non-existent. Any female capable of ovulation may become pregnant after rape by a virile male. Estimates of the numbers of