[Pregnancy denial or the impossible psychic gestation]

Pregnancy denial, a rare but very real condition, is when a woman has been pregnant for at least three months without being aware of it. It is partial if the woman becomes aware of her pregnancy before term. It is total if it persists throughout the pregnancy, ending in an unexpected delivery. As the psyche denies the pregnancy for various reasons, the physical manifestations of the pregnancy are generally prevented. Sometimes, pregnancy denial can even continue indefinitely after childbirth. The psychological dimension is essential in pregnancy denial, to the point of describing it as an impossible psychic gestation.