The author reviews the medical literature on pseudocyesis, the condition where a nonpregnant woman believes she is pregnant and has objective signs of pregnancy. The disorder involves both psychological and neuroendocrine mechanisms and is related to other conditions varying in severity from fleeting fears and wishes in healthy women to pathological changes in neuroendocrine functions in others. The notion that the condition is a heterogeneous one, closely related to other more common disorders, is emphasized.
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