Simulated pregnancy

A simulated pregnancy is a deliberate attempt to create the false impression of pregnancy.^{[citation needed]}

It should not be confused with false pregnancy, where the woman mistakenly believes that she is pregnant.

Techniques

Women who wish to look pregnant, generally for social or psychological purposes, have the option of body suits and the like to wear under their clothes. It can be done by using pillows or pads, or light-weighing small balls with a round shape to simulate a pregnant abdomen.

Empathy bellies are a special body suit available by mail order to imitate a pregnant belly, along with enlarged "breasts" and its build will produce "fetal movement" as if the wearer felt the unborn baby "move".[1]

On that note, women have the option of using artificially supplied hormones to cause their bodies to effectively experience a false pregnancy, which would appear to be the truest form of simulated pregnancy yet discovered.

Reasons

In Women: The reasons for a woman to desire a simulated pregnancy vary greatly from one individual to another. It could be an intellectual curiosity on one end, a cosmetic effect or social experiment, or part of a larger psychological issue.

In Men: There are men who may want to dramatize a simulated pregnancy. Since natural-born males cannot get pregnant, they may wish to experience what many women have experienced, either out of intellectual curiosity or a deeper psychological urge.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Couvade syndrome
• Crossdressing (Transgender and transvestite issues of pregnancy ropleplaying and birth simulation).