​By Porcia Gibson & Koketso Maraba
 
When newly-wedded, Jennifer Tshabalala (34) was ready to give birth to her baby in 2017, doctors at Kopanong Hospital noticed her womb was empty despite the visible baby bump and pregnancy symptoms she had been experiencing for nine (9) months. 
After all the excitement of anticipating to welcoming a bundle of joy to their new family, Tshabalala was stunned by the concept of pseudocyesis pregnancy or false pregnancy, a syndrome she experience at the time. 
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a pseudocyesis pregnancy is a clinical syndrome in which a non-psychotic woman firmly believes herself to be pregnant, and develops objective signs and symptoms of pregnancy (including, morning sickness, absence of menstruation, extended and growing abdomen, filling of breasts and weight gain) in the absence of true gestation.
Tshabalala said she had a similar encounter in 2022 and in 2023 she visited the hospital after she had been experiencing pregnancy symptoms for eight (8) months. Yet again the doctors could not detect any pregnancy. 
"I  was examined by a gynaecologist at Kopanong Hospital in Vereeniging. Dr Calvin Makgato who ran all the necessary scans to determine what could be in my womb said that I had swollen uterine fibroids, which explained the reason we believed that I was pregnant. I was then treated at the hospital.
"It was difficult for my husband and I to accept that we were never pregnant. The hospital referred us to Dr John Mazibuko, a psychologist at Kopanong Hospital. He placed me on antidepressants and I was diagnosed with major depression. I am really happy that the hospital staff was supportive throughout my journey at the time," said Tshabalala. 
According to the National Library of Medicine, 1 in 344 females present with pseudocyesis pregnancy in Africa. This is likely caused by societal or family pressure to have a child.
"Such cases are a coping mechanism for women who have psychological and hormonal challenges," said Dr Lerato Langa-Mlambo from clinical services at the Sedibeng Health District. 
Sikhonjiwe Masilela, Director for Maternal, Neonatal, Child, Women's Health and Nutrition at the Gauteng Department of Health explained that women who long to have a child, women who fear falling pregnant and those in the premenopausal phase wanting to have a child are most likely to experience pseudocyesis pregnancy. 
In addition, Tshabalala said that even though she does not have a child yet, her advice to young females who wish to be mothers is that they should take into consideration the things that they inhabit in their minds as it can alter their bodies to respond to their mindset, resulting in a similar condition as hers. 
Masilela encouraged women to ensure that they visits their nearest clinic immediately after missing their period to check if their pregnant or attend antenatal care to address potential health issues, promote optimal development of the baby and prevent complications, or detect other health complications presenting with symptoms of pregnancy.