Pregnancy is joyful time for most expectant parents as they are anxiously await the birth of their new baby. It is such an exciting time that some women fake being pregnant. Why would a woman pretend to be pregnant when she isn’t? The answers may vary, but the following are some of the reasons women fake pregnancy.
*Emotional Manipulation
Some women lie about being pregnant in the hopes of keeping a failing relationship together. These women are desperate, and they see lying about being pregnant as their only option. Some women even see this as a way to force their partner into marrying them. They are usually hoping to get pregnant before anyone realizes that they are not already pregnant.
*Attention Seeking
Pregnancy can be a time of excitement, and some women crave the attention that comes from being pregnant. It could even be that they had a baby, and their partner or family was extremely attentive during their pregnancy. They long to return to that time, so they pretend to be pregnant in order to receive the attention that they are lacking.
*Finances
Some people will do almost anything for money. There are programs like WIC and TANF that offer assistance to single parents and expectant mothers. These women try to beat the system by pretending to be pregnant. Others hope to receive assistance from excited family members. They plan to either get pregnant later or fake a miscarriage. These women are motivated by money, and their main goal is to receive financial assistance.
*Pseudocyesis
Some women who are not pregnant can become convinced that they are actually pregnant. False pregnancy is called pseudocyesis. Women who suffer from pseudocyesis have many of the common symptoms of pregnancy. When a woman wants intensely to be pregnant, their bodies can produce the same symptoms as a real pregnancy such as amensural, enlarged stomach, enlarged and tender breast, changes in the nipples, and possible milk production, nausea, vomiting, and weight gain. The symptoms of pseudocyesis can last for a few weeks or even as long as nine months. The exact cause of this condition is not known, but psychological factors such as repeated miscarriages, infertility, a strong desire to get married, or impending menopause can cause the body to react as if it is pregnant.
There are several reasons that a woman would lie about being pregnant. Some women lie in the hopes of saving a failing relationship. Some are seeking attention or financial gain while others might actually believe that they are pregnant.
