Anomalies and Curiosities of MedicineGould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Science
Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine
Gould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Abnormalities, Human; Medicine -- Anecdotes
The most noteworthy historic case of pseudocyesis is that of Queen Mary
of England, or "Bloody Mary," as she was called. To insure the
succession of a Catholic heir, she was most desirous of having a son by
her consort, Philip, and she constantly prayed and wished for
pregnancy. Finally her menses stopped; the breasts began to enlarge
and became discolored around the nipples. She had morning-sickness of a
violent nature and her abdomen enlarged. On consultation with the
ladies of her court, her opinion of pregnancy was strongly confirmed.
Her favorite amusement then was to make baby-clothes and count on her
fingers the months of pregnancy. When the end of the ninth month
approached, the people were awakened one night by the joyous peals of
the bells of London announcing the new heir. An ambassador had been
sent to tell the Pope that Mary could feel the new life within her, and
the people rushed to St. Paul's Cathedral to listen to the venerable
Archbishop of Canterbury describe the baby-prince and give thanks for
his deliverance. The spurious labor pains passed away, and after being
assured that no real pregnancy existed in her case, Mary went into
violent hysterics, and Philip, disgusted with the whole affair,
deserted her; then commenced the persecution of the Protestants, which
blighted the reign.
Putnam cites the case of a healthy brunet, aged forty, the mother of
three children. She had abrupt vertical abdominal movements, so strong
as to cause her to plunge and sway from side to side. Her breasts were
enlarged, the areolae dark, and the uterus contained an elastic tumor,
heavy and rolling under the hand. Her abdomen progressively enlarged to
the regular size of matured gestation; but the extrauterine pregnancy,
which was supposed to have existed, was not seen at the autopsy,
nothing more than an enlarged liver being found. The movement was due
to spasmodic movements of the abdominal muscles, the causes being
unknown. Madden gives the history of a primipara of twenty-eight,
married one year, to whom he was called. On entering the room he was
greeted by the midwife, who said she expected the child about 8 P.M.
The woman was lying in the usual obstetric position, on the left side,
groaning, crying loudly, and pulling hard at a strap fastened to the
bed-post. She had a partial cessation of menses, and had complained of
tumultuous movements of the child and overflow of milk from the
breasts. Examination showed the cervix low down, the os small and
circular, and no signs of pregnancy in the uterus. The abdomen was
distended with tympanites and the rectum much dilated with accumulated
feces. Dr. Madden left her, telling her that she was not pregnant, and
when she reappeared at his office in a few days, he reassured her of
the nonexistence of pregnancy; she became very indignant, triumphantly
squeezed lactescent fluid from her breasts, and, insisting that she
could feel fetal movements, left to seek a more sympathetic accoucheur.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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