Psychotic couvade: 2 case reports.

Couvade is a phenomenon, where the expectant father or another relative experiences somatic and/or psychiatric symptoms during a woman's pregnancy. Although epidemiological studies report a frequency of couvade symptoms between 11 and 36% during all pregnancies, psychotic couvade cases are very rare with few case reports. The authors report 2 cases of psychotic couvade and give a psychodynamic interpretation of the cases. They emphasize the important role of ego defect and double identification in the development of the cases. Couvade is a phenomenon, where the expectant father or another relative experiences somatic and/or psychiatric symptoms during a woman's pregnancy. The term couvade was first coined by Tylor in 1865. Somatic symptoms can include indigestion or colic, gastritic symptoms, food cravings, nausea and vomiting, increased or decreased appetite, diarrhea, toothache, headache, itch, muscle tremors, nosebleed or other pains. Abdominal bloating and pseudocyesis have also been reported. Although the psychiatric symptoms most often observed are depression, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, tension and hypochondria there are some reports on psychotic couvade too. In our article we present 2 cases of psychotic couvade.