In a mind-bending twist of medical science, men are experiencing pregnancy symptoms—and it’s way more complex than your typical sympathy weight gain.
While these cases are rare enough to make headlines, they’re leaving medical professionals fascinated and slightly bewildered by the power of the human mind over the body.
Virginia, 1995. A 43-year-old man becomes convinced he’s pregnant. Unlike the more common cases of sympathetic pregnancy symptoms, this patient had schizophrenia and experienced persistent hallucinations.
But here’s where it gets even more interesting: perfectly healthy men are experiencing real pregnancy symptoms too, from weight gain to back aches, while their partners are expecting.
It’s what experts call “an overly emphatic response”—basically, next-level emotional support.
When The Impossible Becomes “Real”

Let’s rewind to 1990. Dr. Paul Paulman, now an associate dean at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, encountered something that would stick with him for over 25 years.
A 30-year-old woman arrived at the hospital, ready to give birth. Standard procedure, right? Wrong. An ultrasound revealed she had no uterus—she’d previously had a hysterectomy.
Despite knowing about her surgery, her body had created every sign of pregnancy except, well, the actual baby.
If you think that’s wild, wait until you hear about what happened in North Carolina in 2010.
Doctors actually attempted to induce labor for two days before discovering there was no baby.
And in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, medical professionals rushed a woman into emergency C-section when they couldn’t find a heartbeat, only to discover there was nothing to deliver.
Both cases resulted in some serious professional consequences for the medical teams involved.
A History of “Ghost Fetuses”

This isn’t just a modern phenomenon. Ancient Chinese medicine described “ghost fetuses,” supposedly resulting from unions between women and ghosts.
Even Hippocrates documented treating 12 women with false pregnancies around 300 B.C. Perhaps the most famous case?
Mary Tudor, whose longed-for child in her forties turned out to be a phantom pregnancy.
The Animal Kingdom’s Surprising Take
Here’s something that will blow your mind: humans aren’t the only ones experiencing this.
Dogs frequently experience false pregnancies, especially after mating with castrated males. There’s even a case of a panda potentially faking pregnancy symptoms—though her keepers suspect she might have just figured out that “pregnant” pandas get better treatment. Talk about gaming the system!
The Science Behind the Mystery

Officially classified as a somatoform disorder in the DSM-5 (psychology’s bible), false pregnancies remain one of medicine’s most bizarre mysteries.
Dr. Catherine Birndorf, a reproductive psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital, suggests it could be a powerful combination of psychological longing and hormonal changes.
False pregnancies appear more frequently in developing nations where a woman’s social value is heavily tied to childbearing.
The pressure to produce children, especially sons, combined with limited career opportunities, creates a perfect storm for this phenomenon.
Surprisingly, the causes of infertility are actually split evenly between men and women, though women in these societies often bear the full burden of blame.
Breaking the Delusion

Even with modern technology, convincing someone they’re not pregnant when they believe they are is incredibly challenging.
Dr. Paulman notes that some patients will insist doctors simply “looked in the wrong place” even after seeing ultrasound evidence. Most refuse therapy, convinced there’s nothing wrong with them.
The Future of Treatment
Unfortunately, don’t expect major breakthroughs anytime soon. While the individual suffering can be intense, the societal impact isn’t significant enough to attract research funding.
As Dr. Paulman puts it, pharmaceutical companies aren’t likely to invest in treating a non-life-threatening condition that affects so few people.
Editor’s Note:
Source: Article originally published on Tonic US, featuring interviews with Dr. Paul Paulman from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and Dr. Catherine Birndorf from New York Presbyterian Hospital.