Woman Expecting Quintuplets Experiences False Pregnancy

Thirty-seven-year-old Barbara Bienvenue was excited to welcome quintuplets into the world, yet her delivery day came and went. Thanks to Dr. Haim Abenhaim, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital, he discovered that Bienvenue may have had pseudocyesis. This condition, known as "phantom pregnancy," shows the physical signs of pregnancy when there is no actual pregnancy.

"We were so happy," said Paul Servat, Bienvenue's boyfriend, via CTV. "Even my parents, they were so looking forward to having grandchildren. I lost my whole life."

However, the story didn't all add up. For instance, according to the news organization, over the course of 34 weeks, Bienvenue said she was having twins, then triplets, then quadruplets and then finally quintuplets.

This unusual condition accounts for one to six out of every 22,000 births, according to WebMD. In some rare cases, men can even have false pregnancies, according to the health organization. For instance, some men may experience sympathetic pregnancy.

Symptoms relating to the health issue are not just mental, but physical, including weight gain, nausea and backache.

Has anyone you've known had this problem? Share in the comments below.