“Kinda Pregnant” May Point to a Rare Psychological Disorder

Could this movie be considered a case study of factitious disorder?

Key points

• Lainy’s fake pregnancy could signal factitious disorder, a rare condition where someone fakes an illness.
• Her childhood and attachment history might explain her need for attention and her choice to fake a pregnancy.
• Therapy would be essential for Lainy to heal and form authentic, healthy connections with others.

If you’re one of the many people who watched Amy Schumer’s new film Kinda Pregnant and thought, “Wait, what?” you’re certainly not alone. This Netflix movie has been met with harsh reviews from critics and viewers alike. It’s a romantic comedy intended to be outrageous in its premise: Lainy Newton (Amy Schumer) fakes a pregnancy because she’s always wanted to be a mother and is jealous that her friends and coworkers are with child. She makes a new friend, Megan (Brianne Howey), and meets a man named Josh (Will Forte), pursuing these relationships while maintaining the pregnancy lie. But this supposed-to-be-silly movie doesn’t seem to have landed that way for most people. From a psychological perspective, here’s why.

Lainy Could Have a Psychological Disorder

Lainy could have factitious disorder, a mental health condition characterized by faking, inducing, or exaggerating symptoms to assume the role of a patient (you might be familiar with its other name, Munchausen syndrome). This disorder most often presents as people pretending to be sick when they’re not, and going to great lengths to convince others they have an illness and need medical care. In this case, rather than pretending to be sick, Lainy is pretending to be pregnant.

We know a little about Lainy’s family history, and it’s easy to see how losing her mother at age 6 and growing up with an alcoholic father could cause significant emotional harm and lead her to faking a medical condition. Lainy probably didn’t have a stable or consistent home life and didn’t get the emotional caretaking and attention she needed as a child. These unmet needs may have fueled her intense desire to be a mother, which would give her the opportunity to provide a better environment for a child, the kind she didn’t have growing up. However, she’s gotten stuck at an early developmental stage, one characterized by immaturity, selfishness, and emotional dysregulation.

It’s worth noting that Lainy does not have pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, a disorder in which a person exhibits symptoms of pregnancy when not actually pregnant. A person with this condition genuinely believes they are pregnant and can experience physical symptoms, such as nausea or a growing belly. Because Lainy is fully aware that she isn’t actually pregnant, factitious disorder would be the more likely diagnosis.

A quick look at the criteria shows that her behaviors seem to fit with factitious disorder.

1. Falsifying symptoms: Lainy puts on a baby bump and pretends to have the aches and pains of pregnancy. She claims she, too, has dry nipples and feels her hormones going crazy.
2. Deceptive behaviors: Once she’s committed to the lie, Lainy goes to great lengths to deceive those around her. For example, she talks about her pregnancy and creates a fictitious backstory about the father of her nonexistent baby.
3. Presentation as ill or impaired: Although not sick, Lainy presents herself as having the ailments of pregnancy, and she’s “impaired” in that she can’t do certain activities because of her pregnancy.
4. Absence of external incentives: This one is a toss-up. Lainy isn’t gaining financially or avoiding legal issues from her ruse, but she does gain new friendships and the attention she’s always craved. The closeness with Megan and the general care she receives is an incentive to continue faking a pregnancy.

Lainy wants the experience of being pregnant—she wants the attention, support, and admiration. Instead of getting care for being sick, she wants care for being with child. Most concerning, she doesn’t stop pretending even when it significantly impacts those around her. Her need to be “the patient” supersedes everything, including other people’s well-being, causing real relational injury and emotional distress to people close to her.

However, because there’s clear secondary gain from her temporary pregnancy and, when caught, she didn’t continue in the lie, factitious disorder probably wouldn’t apply in this scenario. Had she denied reality when confronted and sought extensive medical care to treat pregnancy-related symptoms, there would be a better case for this diagnosis. We would need more information, including her medical and relational histories, before arriving at a conclusion.

Lainy Isn’t Ready to Be in Any Relationship

Regardless of diagnosis, Lainy isn’t ready to be a partner in a healthy relationship. She’s in her 40s and wants children, yet she hasn’t had any serious talks with her long-time boyfriend about their future. And her reactive response to his proposal shows she’s far from ready for a mature relationship. We see this in her friendships too. She lets Megan believe her fake pregnancy and builds a friendship on lies while disrespecting her best friend Kate (Jillian Bell) when she tells her to “get rid of” the baby after Kate announces her pregnancy.

In romantic comedies, we’ve seen stranger things than someone faking a pregnancy, but in real life, we’d be deeply concerned. Even in the absence of factitious disorder, Lainy is emotionally immature and not ready for a relationship or parenthood. Lainy prioritizes her own needs over others’ needs and hides behind humor to avoid vulnerability and authenticity.

Treatment Plan and Prognosis

Although we have an admittedly incomplete picture of Lainy’s history and psychological functioning, it’s safe to say that Lainy needs therapy. Unhealed attachment wounds and possible neglect or trauma from her childhood are impairing her ability to form authentic connections or pursue her lifelong goal of having a family. She should also consider a medication consultation for a possible underlying mood, attentional, or personality disorder.

Lainy has years of therapy ahead of her. Unpacking and repairing from the damage we witness in the movie will take quite a bit of time, and my guess is this isn’t the first time she’s hurt those around her. The good news for her prognosis is that Lainy has insight, meaning she is aware that her actions are unhealthy and that she needs help. We see her attempt to apologize and repair (although her efforts fall short of what is needed given the degree of deception). She seems motivated to change, and that’s a good sign.

References:

Schumer, A. (Producer), & Block, J. (Director). (2025). Kinda pregnant [Film]. Netflix.