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Editorial

Woman's anguish after 9-month pregnancy found to be false

  • PublishedAugust 6, 2019

A family in Mombasa has seen their dreams of having a child shattered at least for now. This is after the lady, Loureen Awuor realized there was no baby, after being ‘pregnant’ for almost nine months. This phenomenon is described as false pregnancy. False pregnancy is the appearance of clinical and subclinical signs and symptoms of pregnancy even though the woman is not really pregnant.

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Utange Medical centre

Loureen has been visiting Utange Medical Centre in Mombasa. The medics in the hospital assured her that the unborn baby was fine in regards to its weight and heartbeat.

“Whenever I went for antenatal visits they (medics) assured me that the pregnancy was okay. They said the baby’s heartbeat and weight was okay,” she narrates.

Her baby bump was so big that she thought she might be expecting twins. They were so excited over the impending delivery that they bought clothes, diapers and all the necessities required. They even picked the name Gabriele, for the unborn baby.

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The reality

They were flabbergasted to hear there is no baby upon a visit to Coast General Hospital.

“The doctors informed us that its only gas, the scan revealed that there are no remains of conception, no adnexial mass seen thus no baby,” Loureen explained crying.

This revelation has left the family tormented, and they are now claiming  the medics of Utange Medical Centre deliberately lied to them in order to mint money. She used around 1,000 shillings for every hospital visit. The medics went to the extent of giving her drugs and required supplements for pregnant mothers.

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“The county health department should take action on Utange clinic and inquire whether the medics are licensed. This is a failure on their side which should not be tolerated,” the distraught husband Mr Ken Murimi explained visibly angry.

Causes of false pregnancy

“False pregnancy is usually caused by the eagerness to get a kid because your friends have one,” Dr Marjan explains.

This leads to the body reacting in a way that even one misses the monthly periods. The women usually get morning sickness and a swollen stomach just like a normal pregnancy and everything that is associated with pregnancy.

“A keen and competent medic should do an ultrasound in such a case to really ascertain the pregnancy,” says the doctor.

Treatment

According to doctors, the treatment usually involves showing an ultrasound to the patient so that she can accept she is not really pregnant. It may go to an extent of involving a psychotherapist for people in denial.

Loureen’s ‘due date’ was July 27th , but instead of joy, it has been marked by denial and anguish over her shattered hopes of having her first child.

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