Rebecca Manzi In Nigeria, fake doctors promise miraculous pregnancies with pseudoscientific "treatments" in exchange for considerable sums of money, exploiting misinformation and social pressure to have children
@BBC/YouTube
A disturbing fertility scam is unfolding in Nigeria, which capitalizes on the desperate desire of women to become mothers and the societal pressure on childbearing. This fraud, put into light by a BBC report, revolves around “clinics” run by individuals impersonating doctors who promise miraculous pregnancies through pseudoscientific “treatments.”
These women, mostly emotionally vulnerable and in distress, pay a lot of money for injections or medications that promise to make them conceive, without any scientific basis. These fraudsters, well-versed in psychological manipulation, convince women to avoid traditional medical checks.
These scammers make the victims believe they are pregnant through the use of deceitful means, such as simulating the fetal heartbeat. They then continue asking for money for “necessary” drugs to induce labor, with the “due date” approaching, at times performing mock surgeries on the women.
One woman believed she gave birth after 15 months of “pregnancy”
Besides being an economic scam, the system feeds into a baby trafficking operation. The babies are usually acquired by coercing or deceiving young mothers, sometimes teenagers, who have been lured into the clinics with promises of support. Some are forced to give up their children, who are then handed over to victims convinced they have given birth.
One of the most emblematic cases is that of Chioma, a woman who believed she gave birth after 15 months of “pregnancy”. Authorities allowed the BBC to attend a discussion about her case, during which it became clear that Chioma was an unsuspecting victim of this fraud. Both she and her husband were interrogated, but ultimately, they were allowed to keep the child, unless the biological parents came forward.
A larger issue of misinformation and cultural pressure
This scam illustrates the wider issues of misinformation and the cultural pressures placed on women. Social media groups perpetuate false myths about “cryptic pregnancies” to take advantage of religious faith and desperation.
While the Nigerian authorities are putting more effort into combating this phenomenon with the help of international organizations, much remains to be done to eradicate the socio-cultural roots that have made such scams so widespread. Awareness, stricter laws, and a change in social perceptions about infertility are required to prevent further abuses.
