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Denial of pregnancy (also called pregnancy denial) is a form of denial exhibited by pregnant women or girls to either the fact or the implications of their own pregnancy. One study found that those who denied their own pregnancy represented 0.26% of all deliveries. A later study cited an incidence at 20 weeks gestation of approximately 1 in 475, and said that the proportion of cases persisting until delivery is about 1 in 2500 pregnancies.

Psychotic denial

This is a form of denial that is so extreme as to fall under the category of delusion. Physical symptoms of pregnancy can be absent or not perceived by the woman. When they occur, they are misinterpreted. Some women interpret the sensation of something growing inside them as cancer, or a blood clot. Some women might believe fetal movements are their organs coming loose inside their body.

See also

• Cryptic pregnancy
• False pregnancy

References

1. Friedman, Susan Hatters; Heneghan, Amy; Rosenthal, Miriam (2007). "Characteristics of Women Who Deny or Conceal Pregnancy". Psychosomatics. 48 (2): 117–22. doi:10.1176/appi.psy.48.2.117. PMID 17329604.
2. Jenkins A, Millar S, Robins J (July 2011). "Denial of pregnancy: a literature review and discussion of ethical and legal issues". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 104 (7): 286–91. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2011.100376. PMC 3128877. PMID 21725094.
3. Miller, Laura J. (2008). "Denial of Pregnancy". In Spinelli, Margaret G. (ed.). Infanticide: Psychosocial and Legal Perspectives on Mothers Who Kill. American Psychiatric. pp. 81–104. ISBN 978-1-58562-754-7.

Further reading

• Wessel, Jens; Gauruder-Burmester, Annett; Gerlinger, Christoph (2007). "Denial of pregnancy – characteristics of women at risk". Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 86 (5): 542–6. doi:10.1080/00016340601159199. PMID 17464581. S2CID 28332133.
• Beier, Klaus M.; Wille, Reinhard; Wessel, Jens (2006). "Denial of pregnancy as a reproductive dysfunction: A proposal for international classification systems". Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 61 (5): 723–30. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.11.002. PMID 17084153.
• Kaplan, Robert; Grotowski, Therese (1996). "Denied pregnancy". Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 30 (6): 861–3. doi:10.3109/00048679609065056. PMID 9034478. S2CID 186483.
• Spielvogel, Anna M.; Hohener, Heidi C. (1995). "Denial of Pregnancy: A Review and Case Reports". Birth. 22 (4): 220–6. doi:10.1111/j.1523-536X.1995.tb00262.x. PMID 8573237.
• Brezinka, C.; Huter, O.; Biebl, W.; Kinzl, J. (1994). "Denial of pregnancy: obstetrical aspects". Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology. 15 (1): 1–8. doi:10.3109/01674829409025623. PMID 8038884.

• Pathology of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium