Man rushes pregnant girlfriend to hospital to give birth to quintuplets and midwife uncovers huge lie
Just awful
When Paul Servat found out his girlfriend Barbara was pregnant he was over the moon.
The pair had only been dating for a few months when Barbara, 37, broke the news. Then when Barbara first told Paul he was to be a father of twins, he was even more thrilled. With Barbara’s stomach growing every day, the number of babies rose to three, then four, and finally five.
However, when the couple went to hospital to birth the children, the midwife told Paul he had been the victim of a cruel lie. There had never been any babies at all.
“She let me choose the names,” a broken-hearted Paul said. “I lost everything, it was my whole life.”
“We were so happy. Even my parents, they were so looking forward to having grandchildren.”
It transpires that Barbara was suffering from pseudocyesis, or a phantom pregnancy, in which sufferers can exhibit all of the symptoms of a pregnancy but with no baby.
Symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even several years.
Paul said Barbara was so convinced she was pregnant that her belly swelled, she began lactating and even had morning sickness.
The couple had received dozens of gifts and freebies from local businesses, including five cots which they had placed in a nursery for the babies.
“I'll return all these things to people who sent them or give them [away]” Paul said.
“I'm a good person and I have nothing to do with these lies.”
Nicola Conville has worked as a journalist and editor for more than 20 years across a wide range of print and online publications. Her areas of expertise are parenting, health and travel. She has two children; Lucy, age eight, and Nathan, age five.
