The Science of Hysterical Pregnancies (with NOAHFINNCE) | Sci Guys Podcast

What happpens when you're pregnant, but without actually being pregnant? These are hysterical pregnancies, and they are totally real. Find out more about these odd phantom foetuses in today's episode.
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References & Further Reading
Hysterical Pregnancies
www.psychdb.com/somatic/pseud...
www.cureus.com/articles/40598...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.britannica.com/science/fa...
www.britannica.com/science/hy...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
americanpregnancy.org/getting...
Somatic Symptom Disorders
www.psychiatry.org/patients-f...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.psychdb.com/somatic/dsm-5...
Follow the SCI GUYS
@notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

[@reallyrory4072]

"I would not! You are saying things untrue" I love the way Noah words things

[@Ale-rq1nz]

everyone really just skipped over noah’s “i had phantom breasteses”…

[@NOAHFINNCE]

disappointing

[@SnailTrailJay]

@@NOAHFINNCE hi Noahhhh

[@xannabelliax]

I was talking recently about how I get so annoyed when people call women crazy because it goes back to the history of "hysteria", and how it was just a way to silence women with opinions. The history of the way women have been treated is more horrific than most people realise

[@VioletE420]

As an autistic person whose biggest special interest is animal (including human) biology, I'm psyched af about just finding your channel today. This is my jam. I'm so happy to find some fellow biology enthusiasts.

[@puffpride8344]

I have health anxiety and I get the physical symptoms of what I'm anxious about. I've been bedbound with bones aching so badly just from anxiety about bone cancer. I've had splitting headaches from anxiety about brain tumours, weird sensations down one side of my face from anxiety about strokes, and excruciating chest pain from anxiety about heart attacks (this one sucks because anxiety creates chest pain anyway so it's really bad). Worst part is that I never believe the symptoms are from my anxiety and am 100% sure I'm going to die. I've achieved basically nothing over the last decade because I can't do anything because I'm convinced I'm dying tomorrow. It really bothers me when people think anxiety isn't that bad or is a "tamer" mental illness.

[@hannah5012]

Yes! I relate to so much of this, just letting you know you're definitely not alone in those experiences. It sucks so much as well that specifically health anxiety is really not taken very seriously at all in comparison to other mental health symptoms and physical symptoms. Doctors seem a lot less able to take my complaints seriously, as if I'm not really experiencing those symptoms but I am truly feeling them. It's really tough. Sending you solidarity, and I hope you get to touch a tree soon if that helps you too!

[@nataliatheweirdo]

do people not get this...anyway normally?? XD

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

❤️

[@harrietokeefe9658]

I feel this I have a huge fear of throwing up so I get anxious about that but then being anxious makes me feel nauseous which obviously makes it worse so then I get more anxious about it and basically go round in circles which is super fun.

[@etheplant]

Re: other animals getting pseudo pregnancies, it does happen! My mom used to be a dog breeder and we never experienced it first hand but some of her friends dogs did. In dogs it leads to dogs nesting as if they're going to give birth (pregnant dogs often start hiding once they're close to giving birth), they can start producing milk and they often adopt toys or other objects as puppies. I also know that it can happen to cats and horses so I'm assuming that it can happen to more animals than that as well.

[@theincarnationofboredom207]

I follow a pair of snake breeders and they've had similar things happen with their snakes, where the snakes will get thicker and have some pregnancy behaviors but turn out to not be pregnant.

[@etheplant]

Wow, I didn't know that happened to snakes too!

[@celiananaze]

the thing i like about this podcast is the fact that there is always one of them to bring up the same stupid question that i'm asking myself or the dumb remarks that i'm making....makes me feel less dumb, while actually learning things, so thanks a lot!

[@Elientjepientje.]

Dogs can get phantom pregnancies too. My aunts dog had it two times. So they had her ovaries removed and after that it never happened again. She build nests and started protecting squeaky toys like they where her pups. She got really picky with her food and was very lethargic

[@beckymcdonald9529]

My dachshund almost died from complications of a phantom pregnancy. Crazy stuff

[@nataliatheweirdo]

when noah was like 'oooh i have so many of these!!!' when the list of dsm5 disorders were getting read out i started laughing bc yes it does indeed hit different when you have all your problems listed somewhere xD

[@reallyrory4072]

"Omg I have so many of these!" "Gotta catch em alllll"

[@Susan-jr3ld]

to answer Luke, the uterus itself does expand early on long before the baby is big enough to fill it. Probably 3rd trimester is when the baby catches up to the uterus growth. So the abdomen as in muscles and things don't expand in prep but the uterus does. there have been cases of of pseudo pregnancies where the uterus did expand a little, not enough to be like a full term baby size, but the hormones released by the brain due to thinking you're pregnant makes the uterus expand........now watch, I'm writing this early on and at some point I'm betting Corey will say exactly this.

[@lucyisverysmall]

I have functional neurological disorder, the one you were talking about where you can become paralysed from trauma. I’d love to see you do a full episode on it, it’s often misunderstood and people believe it’s just a mental illness when really it’s on the bridge between psychology and neurology and it can be just as disabling as MS or parkinson’s! If you made an episode exploring deeper into FND in a respectful and educational way it’d help so many people, just an idea :)

[@coralovesnature]

I actually have a whole list of potential kid names, but some of my favorites (in no particular order) are Magnolia, Gaia, Juniper, Sigra, Orrin, Hector, and Eagle.

[@lunaguy1195]

And they sound lovely too

[@coralovesnature]

@@lunaguy1195 thank you ❤️

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

Magnolia and Gaia names like that make me want to get more animals just to use those names

[@krizr864]

I always loved the name Eugene but for a girl, it's kinda a dying name so that's kinda cool and like genie for short is so cute and recently I really like the name Anda (pronounced on-da) this could go either boy or girl for me but I like it more for a boy, dada as a nickname :) I've put many a thought into this lol

[@jenniferrose2360]

Idk why I love seeing a group of men with good knowledge on women and our bodies

[@olgacalvache3327]

Love the Ross Lynch look on the thumbnail lmao

[@ekeetley123]

My dog has just had a phantom pregnancy! Her mammary glands and teats swelled and produced milk, she was whining and crying more, and hiding under bits of furniture/nesting more. They can also lose their appetite etc. Science is weird!

[@brenna5200]

don’t plan on ever having kids, but if I did, I love the names Alice, Jane, Willow, and Hunter

[@madhatterline]

Fun fact and to clear something up. You do need to have started menstruation to get pregnant naturally. Menstruation usually doesn't start before 8, but in very rare cases menstruation has been know to start in toddlers. The youngest ever mother was a 5 year old named Lima Medina, who gave birth to a healthy baby boy by c-section in 1939 Peru. He believed his mother was his sister till he was told the truth at age 10. The doctors who took care of Medina during the pregnancy and surgery (she was brought it at 6 months pregnant by her parents who thought she had a tumour) made sure that they both got an education and did relatively well in life. The case is well documented and verified. No one ever knew who the father was, though tests seemed to prove it was not Medina's father. Medina had a second son over 30 years later.

[@mmalove98]

I have an extreme dread of getting pregnant to the point where I have pregnancy symptoms frequently and this has given me a name to my feelings and I dont feel so crazy anymore

[@datfatrat7135]

does anyone else remember that girl on dr phil who thought she was pregnant with baby Jesus. i wonder if she had this or if she was clout chasing.

[@reallyrory4072]

Probably clout chasing tbh 🤧

[@WhyIsTheClosetDoorOpening]

38:06 I’m 15 and a trans guy. One of my greatest fears all my life has been getting pregnant, and there have been a couple times when I was fully convinced that I was pregnant, even thought it was physically impossible for that to be case, but I did get symptoms of pregnancy and I got a pregnancy test at the doctor’s office. It came back negative, of course, but by then I had gotten over it and was no longer presenting the symptoms. I’m not sure if this is what was happening, but it definitely sounds like it.

[@jessicawood4112]

I have conversion disorder and I was having daily bouts of paralysis daily for weeks,, and the inability to see. and facial ticks. its a fascinating thing. horrifying, but fascinating. therapy is a key factor in recovery.

[@reallyrory4072]

"You're leaving before you have a baby on my sofa"

[@cheyennewest340]

I can attest as someone who dealt with it at the age of nine periods are not fun. Thank god for a mother in the nursing field

[@JumanjiiCostco]

I didn't even know this was a thing... and the conversation was hilarious. So glad I found this one!

[@valgdeluca]

the thing about animals is certainly interesting, because actually the way hysterical pregnancies were explained to me as a kid was that it was a purely animal thing - that sometimes cats and dogs mated and the embryo didn't take, but their bodies still thought it did, so they went through all the stages of pregnancy and even labor but with no actual fetuses - it's wild to hear it's a thing in humans too, but that it's a lot more psychology based than at least the couple times i've witnessed with pets.

[@datfatrat7135]

id name my kid persephone or juliet

[@MeganMegandaughter]

I don't know what I'd name my kid but my cat is called Luna

[@VioletE420]

One of our dogs was diagnosed with false pregnancy because she was exhibiting nesting and other pregnancy-related instinctive behaviors for dogs. I didn't know it was so rare. I wonder if it's as rare in other animals (like dogs) as it is in humans.

[@VioletE420]

As a note, the vet who diagnosed her at the time did explain it as her wanting to be pregnant so badly that her body was mimicking pregnancy symptoms. She had physical symptoms as well. No pregnancy though, obviously. There was almost no way for her to be pregnant at the time either, she wasn't around any male dogs who could impregnate her. But we had to still take her to get checked up on because she looked pregnant and was acting pregnant.

[@VioletE420]

Google results show that around 50-75% of unspayed female dogs will have a noticeable false pregnancy in their lifetime. So actually, there should be plenty of research available to read up on about false pregnancies in dogs.

[@mrigaankamuch]

Now THAT is a FUZZY hoodie

[@deadlymelody27]

Talking of the peeing 20 times, that is DEFINITELY something i did while pregnant towards the end. 🤣 and then after i had the baby, my body forgot how to pee normally and i would go like once a day. 🤣 it was nice not to have to go every time i stood up and several times in the night though. Pregnancy is crap 🤣 i cant imagine what it would be like to have a hysterical one... the symptoms are awful but at least you get a baby out of it.

[@lila6824]

I have a tiny hooman, and wont disclose the name chosen by the father and i. However, i always liked jack/james and clemintyne/mishka.. pet name ( oliver ), actually did has a cat named that once :( he ran away Aaaaand, i think you guys should do an episode about mirror neurons :) Cheers!!!!

[@noahsev12]

1:08:40 i got an ad break with a really deep voice saying "inflammation"

[@arleencloud9461]

does anyone knows the religious guy's tiktok account that Corry mentioned? o:

[@zali8597]

replying because i wanna know if someone answers :P

[@AceWinkeler]

i want to name a girl noa blake (completely unrelated to noahfinnce i swear) and a boy william (will) reid. loved this episode! keep it up bro :)

[@mimsygoodcat3449]

I would think hormonal changes would cause the womb to grow anyway. So my friend had this for 13 weeks but wasn't pregnant. She was very upset, shed been trying for 3 years, young healthy and fit. They put her on the pill for 3 months after this, came off it and hey-ho had her first baby falling pregnant 1st month coming off it. Cite: rn nurse me and also her

[@noa-de6gz]

"F yo tell someone ' You're a bit grumpy' They're gonna get grumpier." - Wise Words of NOAHFINNCE 2022

[@sarahp-s921]

If one were to pee on a pregnancy test would it show a false positive? Like I mean does the composition of the urine change if all these other things happen such as leaking from the breasts and periods changing etc.?

[@PChuu22]

What WOULD I name my kids...or what DID I name my kids? Jacob, Gwynneth (though he's Gareth now), Elanor, and Vivien.

[@whitesnow3657]

For the #154 sci-guys video I think u should do can men and woman have a simple friendship

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

I don’t understand what you mean

[@Abigael_Zed]

Can you do an episode about America (and maybe other countries) and if they're cults? (Binging Evan Edinger & I would love a scientific perspective.)

[@mrigaankamuch]

Luke looks like a pastor in a My Chemical Romance video :)

[@alexwhite8872]

actually fun fact my dog had a pseudopregnancy so it can happen in animals

[@libbycox3620]

I would name my kids, Maisie, Saidie, Jake and Luca

[@MeganMegandaughter]

Right on time

[@sithie5557]

Freya or Dante or Jamie im never having kids but i named my dog Grog

[@angelicaharwell3062]

Hugo, Basil, Constantine..

[@deadlymelody27]

Animals can absolutely have phantom pregnancies. My friends dog had one where her boobs started leaking 🤣

[@katelynntull4167]

I would name my kids something like luca, kai, lynn, hazel, or arthur

[@StSebbe]

four guys saying "when You are pregnant" lol

[@deadlymelody27]

My baby is called Willow. We never actually decided on a boys name because we could never agree, but I wanted Oscar and Ozzy for short. Those werent the names i had in my head for years but we didnt agree on anything. We agreed on willow straight away so although i didnt care about the sex, i was a little relieved she came out and was afab just because i knew we had a name 🤣

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

Willow as a boy also good

[@Jsembuh.Klansemi]

47:07 if anyone has this bible guy's tiktok @ pls tell me~ i wanna check out his content (:

[@nj8087]

I don't think I'd ever have a baby myself, I do however want to be a foster parent when I get older.

[@stephanie5293]

Wolfgang is the dream name

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

Never will have kids, but I recently got two Guinea pigs and named them Pignacious and Pigagonia

[@Grace_norton1]

i would probably name my kids Victoria if it was a girl, Victor if it was a boy.

[@lizzieellman5851]

I don't think I'll ever have a kid, but if I did I would name them either Eleonora or Hemlock

[@kimicka13]

When Noah said Mary I thought he meant Mary Queen of Scots not the Virgin Mary XD

[@noa-de6gz]

"Abdominal dissention, stomach getting big. Enlargement of the breasts, tiddies getting big. Then there's cessation interruption or disorder of menses..." Like, first are like two are three words, the a whole paragraph to say one symptom!

[@ananeisenstein-bond6927]

I've though et al. being an author everywhere before 😂😅 I know better now

[@koda5209]

This made me think if KZbinr Courtney Coulson she had this

[@HeyItsEmilyLove]

I’d name my kid Seven

[@lunaguy1195]

If I do decide to continue my family bloodline(which is probably never gonna happen) I would name them Luna, Katherine, Henry, Ariel, Eduardo, and Marie/María

[@elias5558]

Damn, thats a long as name

[@maddyl6988]

There are other stories about Jesus' early life that didn't make it into the bible that specifically mention his brothers and sisters! Early on, Mary wasn't considered to have been a virgin her entire life, just when Jesus was conceived and when she gave birth to him. It was assumed that as a married and loving couple, she and Joseph would have had sex at some point. Edit: to partially answer Luke's question, women immediately post-pregnancy have a slightly distended abdomen (they look like they're a couple months pregnant and showing). To my knowledge, this is due to relaxation of ligaments, unused fat stores accumulated during the first trimester and organs not having returned to their original positions yet. So if pseudo pregnancy involves the body thinking it's pregnant and mimicking pregnancy hormones, the ligaments loosening and abdominal fat accumulation could happen, resulting in a similar distended abdomen. Also, I'm a 1st-year medical student, not a doctor, but listening to the first 15/20 mins of this podcast, they could've used a 2nd guest who is one (a doctor), I'm already coming up with some physiological explanations (mostly to do with hormones or tumours) for symptoms like changes in posture, periods, and the abdominal distention (e.g. fibromyalgia or endometriosis, maybe with an ovarian cyst that's disrupting hormone levels?). Or maybe the psychosomatic explanation is that the effect of the mind on the body is strong enough that your mind convinces your body you're pregnant so effectively that your body starts producing hormones in a similar way to pregnancy. Also also, there's a theory that Queen Mary Tudor had this. She tried desperately to have a child but never could. At one time, she firmly believed she was pregnant and, her doctors agreeing with her, went into confinement for her last couple of months as was the custom at the time. She then didn't emerge for I think 4 months because the baby never came. She eventually emerged in shame with no baby. There was speculation at the time that she had had a miscarriage and hidden it, or lied in some other way. The prevailing theory nowadays is that she truly believed she was pregnant, either due to a pseudo pregnancy, unreliable tests at the time combined with ovarian cancer mimicking the symptoms, self-delusion because she wanted a baby so much, or all of the above. Sry I have a terrible habit of writing a comment at the start of a video, then editing it and adding crazy amounts of extra stuff as I watch because I don't want to flood the comments with loads of little ones but I have loads I wanna say XD

[@LilithEADelain]

❤️❤️❤️

[@jamielavender582]

I would name my kids Raphael and Alec

[@joyfletcher5668]

baby names: willow, ocean, and angel.

[@stephanie5293]

WHY DID THEY NOT GET THE QUESTION RIGHT

[@finnxrobbie]

I'd name my kid Kai. Or Will Grayson. Or Neil. (My child would just get the name of my favorite book charakter atm)

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

My friend just transitioned and changed their name to Kai. I love it.

[@stanleysidds8792]

lu or finn

[@mimsygoodcat3449]

Mines is reuben. No more for me

[@maet6500]

I want to name my kid xenon but my girlfriend doesn’t want to 🙄

[@coralovesnature]

That’s a good one! I also like Xiomara.

[@noname-dk3wi]

Like the element ?

[@maet6500]

@@noname-dk3wi yep

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

One might call her…xenonphobic I had to do it

[@noname-dk3wi]

@@pokemonfanthings4444 10/10 great joke

[@shinraiyukiotsutsukiwhatif5802]

Fatty and oily meals enlarges my stomach

[@noa-de6gz]

i would name my child Bartholomew |||

[@marte8730]

I would call my kid every stereotipical trans names just for fun

[@pokemonfanthings4444]

The only stereotypical trans name I can think if is Jamie but I only know of three real trans Jamies plus one fictional one

[@adamalkhawaja2003]

I don't want kids