Popular Twitter user, Abah Peter Ehi, who is also a medical doctor; took to the social media platform to expose what he describes as the cryptic pregnancy scam in Nigeria.
How does the cryptic pregnancy scam in Nigeria work?
Abah Peter Ehi. Source: Twitter
The scammers posing as medical personnel, find their victims first, women who are trying to conceive. Then they convince these unsuspecting women that they are pregnant. Once this happens, they begin to inject the women with high doses of estrogen or progesterone hormones; so that they start to get symptoms of pregnancy. These injections can make the woman’s abdomen swell as though she’s carrying a baby.
Who is responsible for this scam?
Women who are desperately trying to conceive can fall into the hands of scammers posing as trained medical experts. Abah Ehi Peter, the doctor who shared this shocking revelation on his Twitter page, said that these women are often brainwashed into believing they are pregnant when they aren’t.
Once they get injected with the hormones that cause their abdomens to grow bigger, these women often believe that they are really pregnant.
Who uncovered the cryptic pregnancy scam in Nigeria?
The doctor said he discovered the scam when a patient of his came to him wondering why she was still menstruating even though she was three months pregnant. After probing her to find out why she thought she was pregnant, she replied thus:
“I was introduced to this thing by a friend. They have 3 categories: N500,000, N1,000,000 and N1,800,000 depending on sex selection and success rate. On my first visit to the clinic, after confirmation of payment, something was inserted into my vagina and I was asked to have regular vaginal sexual intercourse with my husband and return in 4 weeks.”
“After 4 weeks, I was told I am pregnant in a cryptic way and that I should not bother going to any hospital for antenatal or for pregnancy tests because the baby won’t show in the scan.”
“I was told to only visit their clinic and come regularly for injection until the completion of 9 months, after which I would deliver via C-section because the baby is a special one. They said I would continue seeing my menses but should that I should not be bothered.”
The patient further revealed she had received three doses of the injection.
How are these quack medical experts getting away with the cryptic pregnancy scam in Nigeria?
According to the doctor who made the revelation, these quacks keep injecting the women with high doses of the hormones. These hormones can have dangerous side effects like cancer and stroke, but these scam artists obviously don’t care about that.
After 9 months of ‘pregnancy’, these women are invited to come in and deliver their babies by C-section. Then they put the woman under general anaesthesia for the surgery. When she wakes up from the effect of the drug, she’ll find her baby or babies in the room with her.
These victims of the cryptic pregnancy scam in Nigeria can’t breastfeed. There are WhatsApp groups where women who supposedly had their cryptic pregnancy babies share their testimonies to women who are trying to conceive. Apparently, the WhatsApp groups are also part of the scam.
Where do the babies come from?
Twitter users wanted to know how these fake medical experts procured babies for their cryptic pregnancy scam. In response, another Twitter user pointed out the fact that these babies could be from the many secret baby factories in the country. The Nigerian Police has discovered and raided some of these factories.
Nigerian women start feeling the pressure to conceive mere hours after their wedding3. For some, this kind of pressure can make them vulnerable enough to fall for something as terrible as the cryptic pregnancy scam. If you are trying to conceive, the wisest thing will be to use the services of a registered hospital.
Resource: BBC News
Read Also: Cryptic Pregnancy: Signs, Prevention And Discovery
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