Secondary delusion of pregnancy in an antipsychotic Naïve patient

Abstract

Delusion of pregnancy is relatively rare phenomenon encountered in psychiatric patients but is reported frequently in developing countries. It can be associated with both psychiatric and neurological disorders. We are reporting a case of delusion of pregnancy that developed in a drug-naïve young woman secondary to auditory hallucination with normal body mass index with no neurological cause due to paranoid schizophrenia. Till date, only seven such cases were reported where auditory hallucinations were reported along with the belief in pregnancy. It should be differentiated from pseudocyesis/pseudopregnancy/simulated pregnancy/Couvade syndrome. Workup should include the identification of the psychosocial/cultural factors leading to the development of this phenomenon, although pharmacological treatment remains the mainstay of the treatment.

Keywords

• antipsychotics
• delusion of pregnancy
• delusional pregnancy
• schizophrenia