67-year-old has ‘fake pregnancy’
A 67-year-old Serbian is not pregnant as she claimed, although she displayed signs of pregnancy, doctors report.
Zlatija Jovic, from Gornje Birijanje village in the Leskovac county, told a local television station she was expecting her first baby in mid-July.
But doctors who have examined Mrs Jovic said while she had enlarged stomach and other signs of pregnancy, she was not having a baby, Beta news agency said.
They said her condition was likely caused by her desire to have children.
Physician Dragan Todorovic, who examined Mrs Jovic, was quoted as saying: “The situation is clear, she is not pregnant.
“It is a fake pregnancy which is rare among (elderly) women. The symptoms of pregnancy were probably caused by her great desire to have children.”
Mrs Jovic was not available for comment, but the doctor said she was in shock after hearing the news, according to the report.
“She went silent for half an hour,” Dr Todorovic was quoted as saying.
“When she spoke, I could see she was fighting emotions.”
Mrs Jovic and her husband, Miodrag, 53, had told local 4S TV how they were hoping for a son.
The couple first married 30 years ago, but then divorced.
Miodrag Jovic had two other marriages, and fathered a daughter, who has two children herself.
Zlatija Jovic remained single until remarrying Miodrag nine years ago, according to reports.
Earlier this year, a Bucharest woman was said to have become the world’s oldest mother after giving birth to a baby girl at the age of 66 after years of fertility treatment.
Phantom pregnancy
A rare condition where a woman believes she is pregnant and develops symptoms consistent with this
These can include a swollen tummy, absent periods and the sensation that a baby is moving inside
Technically known as pseudocyesis, it is commonest in young women
Revision date: June 22, 2011
Last revised: by David A. Scott, M.D.