Last week, I reported on the disturbing abduction of four-day-old Mychael Darthard-Dawodu from a Texas hospital. Now, more details are emerging about the kidnapper, Rayshaun Parson, and the mysterious illness she was suffering from.
Parson’s intense desire for a baby had consumed her dreams, behavior, and even her body, according to those who knew her. This obsession reportedly led to a rare condition known as phantom pregnancy, where women who aren’t actually pregnant experience physical and emotional changes similar to those of expectant mothers. Parson’s phantom pregnancy episodes continued through two miscarriages and a difficult breakup.
While Parson has not publicly addressed the allegations, court documents and interviews with people close to her paint a picture of a troubled young woman whose love for children and ambition to be a mother had turned into an overwhelming compulsion.
The phenomenon of false pregnancies, also known as pseudocyesis, is typically linked to underlying emotional and psychological issues. Dr. Cornelia deRiese, an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Tech University, explains that while this condition was more common in the past, advancements in modern medicine have made it rare today.
After the mistaken pregnancy episode in 2002, Parson became pregnant in 2003, only to suffer an early miscarriage. According to accounts, she never fully recovered from the loss.
Parson’s longing to be a mother was evident as she watched friends give birth and raise their children, yearning for the same experience.
The case of Mychael Darthard-Dawodu’s abduction sheds light on a little-known condition that deserves further understanding and compassion.
Pseudocyesis has been observed and written about since antiquity. Hippocrates set down the first written account around 300 B.C., and recorded 12 different cases of women with the disorder. One of the most famous historical examples is Mary Tudor (1516-1558), Queen of England, who believed on more than one occasion that she was pregnant when she was not. Some even attribute the violence that gave her the nickname “Bloody Mary” as a reaction to the disappointment of finding out that she was not carrying a child. Other historians believe that the queen’s physicians mistook fibroid tumors in her uterus for a pregnancy, as fibroids can enlarge a nonpregnant uterus.
Pseudocyesis has become increasingly rare in many parts of the world in which accurate pregnancy tests have become widely available. Cultures that place high value on pregnancy, or that make close associations between fertility and a person’s worth, still have high rates of the disorder.
No single theory about the causes of pseudocyesis is universally accepted by mental health professionals. The first theory attributes the false pregnancy to emotional conflict. It is thought that an intense desire to become pregnant, or an intense fear of becoming pregnant, can create internal conflicts and changes in the endocrine system, which may explain some of the symptoms of pseudocyesis. The second theory concerns wish fulfillment. It holds that if a woman desires pregnancy badly enough she may interpret minor changes in her body as signs of pregnancy. The third leading theory is the depression theory, which maintains that chemical changes in the nervous system associated with some depressive disorders could trigger the symptoms of pseudocyesis.
This is one of my best friends. I pray for her all the time, and i hope she gets all the help she needs. I am so thankful that the baby girl made it home safely. I am sorry to her family, for the pain they must have felt. Something went terribly wrong.