Somatic Symptom Disorder in Pregnant women

Key things to know What the evidence shows
How common is it? NE
Is it more common among pregnant women? Physical symptoms are common in pregnancy, complicating recognition
Are pregnant women at higher risk? No evidence pregnancy itself causes SSD
How much higher is the risk? NE
How often can it be missed? Very High
Does it show up differently among pregnant women? Strong Yes contextually
How might it look different? Normal nausea, pain, fatigue, palpitations etc. can become focus of excessive anxiety/checking—but genuine obstetric causes must be assessed
What commonly occurs alongside it? Anxiety; depression
What can it be confused with? Normal pregnancy symptoms; medical/obstetric disease; anxiety
Common screening tool SSD-12 — Somatic Symptom Disorder–B Criteria Scale
Separate screening tool for pregnant women None
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