How common is false pregnancy?

The concept of a false pregnancy is nothing new. Hippocrates is credited for the first written account in 300 B.C. Mary Tudor is a famous historical example. Instances of pseudocyesis have dropped significantly in the United States over the last century.

In the 1940s, cases of false pregnancy occurred in approximately 1 out of every 250 pregnancies. That number has declined to between 1 and 6 cases for every 22,000 births.

The average age of a woman experiencing a phantom pregnancy is 33. But there have been cases reported in children as young as 6 and women as old as 79. Roughly one-third of women with pseudoscyesis have been pregnant at least once before, and more than two-thirds are married. Women who have experienced incest could be at a greater risk of experiencing false pregnancies.

It’s rare to experience a false pregnancy. Symptoms of pregnancy and pseudocyesis may be confusingly similar, but there is one significant distinction. In a false pregnancy, there is simply no baby. That’s because no conception ever took place, despite symptoms that seem to suggest otherwise. See your doctor if you have questions or think you might be pregnant.