If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. One man learned this in the most devastating way after believing he was going to be a dad to not one but five babies.
According to an article in the Toronto Sun, 35-year-old Paul Servat discovered Barbara Bienvenue was pregnant, and for four months his excitement and anticipation grew in time with his 37-year-old girlfriend's stomach.
Friends set up a Facebook page to collect presents for the quintuplets. Names were chosen. The nursery in his Montreal home was decorated and ready.
"We were so happy," said Servat. "Even my parents, they were so looking forward to having grandchildren."
When he took his girlfriend to the hospital at 34 weeks, staff broke the bad news: the blood tests confirmed a phantom pregnancy. Bienvenue was admitted to the hospital for psychiatric observation.
In a false pregnancy—known as pseudocyesis—a woman becomes so convinced that she is carrying a baby that she can experience symptoms such as a swollen abdomen, morning sickness, even lactation.
Servat plans to return or donate all the gifts for the babies. "I'm a good person and I have nothing to do with these lies," he said. "I lost everything, it was my whole life."
What to expect when you're expecting? See our month-by-month pregnancy guide.
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