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Leading obstetricians and gynaecologists have debunked claims and myths that a woman could be pregnant for three years or more.
The maternal health experts asserted that an average pregnancy in humans could only last for 42 weeks or 10 months, stating that pregnancy lasting beyond this period was abnormal and has no place in medicine.
They noted that after 42 weeks of gestation, the placenta, which is an organ that provides oxygen and nutrients to a developing baby in the uterus, would decline, leading to the death of the foetus.
The experts’ comment is in response to the recent eight-year pregnancy claim by a middle-aged woman, Janet Dada.
Dada claimed that she suffered a miscarriage in 2016 and after that got pregnant, stating that since then, she had yet to deliver the baby.
Although she clarified that several ultrasound scans showed she was not carrying a baby, spiritualists whom she visited assured her she was pregnant.
In October, former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, said his late mother carried him in her womb for three-and-half years.
He described his birth as a miracle, noting that the prolonged pregnancy created a wave of unbelief as to whether he was a human being.
In July, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said that his mother carried his pregnancy for 12 months before his birth.
He ascribed the delay to the influence of some witches and wizards who gave his mother a tough time before God’s intervention.
However, in exclusive interviews with PUNCH Healthwise, the leading maternal health specialists, affirmed that since pregnancy was counted from the first day of the last menstrual period, women who stop menstruation for some months and later on ovulate and conceive, could have a challenge with accurate pregnancy dating.
The gynaecologists called for proper pregnancy education and urged every pregnant woman to register for antenatal care early and be regular with their appointments.
A former President of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, Prof. Rotimi Akinola, stated that a normal pregnancy could not exceed 42 weeks.
He clarified that the claims of pregnancies lasting three to eight years could indicate that these women likely experienced menstrual irregularities, then suddenly ovulated and conceived, mistakenly calculating their pregnancy from the date of their last period.
“Oftentimes those who have that are people who have irregular periods. So when they are not pregnant, they think they are and we’ve had such occasions when they will insist. We count pregnancy from the last time you saw your period but it’s not always pregnancy that makes you not see your period,” the don said.
Continuing, Akinola said, “ Usually, if somebody has ovarian cancer and has plenty of fluid in the abdomen, it’s called ascites. They might not even be seeing their period simply because of the tumour. So they might think it’s pregnancy and it might last for a very long time, which is a possibility.
“Any tumour in the abdomen that makes the tummy big will appear like a pregnancy but an ultrasound scan will show that there is no baby there.”
The gynaecologist stated that such women needed to be operated on to remove the cysts.
He noted that some women in such conditions usually believed their spiritual leaders’ assurances that they were carrying a baby, noting that this fuelled late hospital presentations and an increase in mortality rate.
The gynaecologist called for more education, advocacy and information on health matters.
“We continue to educate people that not everything is spiritual. But some people who are even educated still fall for that because of being desperate to conceive. There’s something called pseudocyesis, false pregnancy that those who wish to be pregnant desperately, or those who fear pregnancy so much, then suddenly they don’t see their period, their tummy begins to grow and their breasts begin to be full but when you do a pregnancy test, it will be negative and a scan won’t show anything. They might stay like that for three or four years. It’s a psychiatric problem rather than a medical problem.
“It’s psychological because they believe so. So the brain is playing tricks with them. It usually lies within the purview of a psychiatrist or psychologist to treat them so that their system will get back to normal,” Akinola said.
Also, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Abubakar Panti, noted that 40 weeks was the average timeline used scientifically to track and anticipate foetal development, and to plan health care.
“When a pregnancy goes beyond 42 weeks, it’s considered post-term. To give enough room for some people’s pregnancy that will be beyond that 42 weeks, that is why some people say, the highest 50 weeks. So by the time you say 50 weeks, you’ll be talking about 10 months pregnant which sometimes it can’t go beyond that,” Panti clarified.
The gynaecologist stated that claims of three to eight years of pregnancy were scientifically unfounded and medically impossible.
He added that when such claims arose, three types of explanation could be given.
“One is that when you have something called molar pregnancy or gestational trophoblastic disease. In rare cases, some pregnancies develop into abnormal forms known as gestational trophoblastic disease, which includes molar pregnancy. These conditions involve abnormal tissue growth in the uterus.
“Sometimes forming a mass that resembles a pregnancy but you may not see a viable uterus. So this may cause the uterus to enlarge, but they do not result in living, growing babies. So these masses usually need medical treatment, often surgical, and can persist for many years if not properly removed,” the fertility expert said.
He added that the other explanation was the myth and misunderstandings of abdominal masses such as abdominal tumours or cysts, which could grow and expand over time, causing symptoms similar to pregnancy.
He further said that such abdominal swellings and discomfort could be mistaken for pregnancy, especially in regions where access to medical imaging is limited.
Panti explained, “You can imagine somebody is carrying a huge fibroid, and then suddenly gets pregnant, where will you start counting from? You start counting from where you notice the mass.”
Continuing, the gynaecologist said, “A woman can just cease not to menstruate for more than a year and then instead of her menstruating, pregnancy just happened along the way. So where will she start counting that pregnancy? You start counting from when she was not pregnant.
“In some rare instances, the foetus can die in utero, like early in pregnancy, and instead of being expelled, it calcifies to form a phenomenon known as lithopedium, like stone pregnancies, stone baby and may be mistaken for a pregnancy lasting years because they are there and they pose no threat of delivering a living baby.
“The last one is usually a cultural and superstitious explanation. In some cultures, myths and misunderstandings about pregnancy can lead to extraordinary claims. This may be rooted in folklore or used to explain unusual medical conditions that aren’t fully understood within a community. However, from a scientific standpoint, this explanation does not reflect a true pregnancy. So the bottom line is that no human pregnancy can physiologically last for years.”
He asserted that claims of multi-year pregnancy were often due to misunderstanding and other medical conditions.
The don emphasised that placenta function began to decline after 42 weeks, noting that babies who stayed beyond such period may not survive.
Panti noted that these claims had serious implications for maternal mortality rates and safe delivery outcomes, particularly in settings where access to healthcare and accurate information was limited.
He added that the belief in prolonged pregnancy could cause other pregnant women to delay seeking medical intervention and prenatal care, exposing such mother and baby to risks of hypertension and diabetes in pregnancy and haemorrhage further increasing complications during labour.
The maternal health expert called for a multifaceted approach that combined education, healthcare access, community engagement and policy support to debunk myths about prolonged pregnancies and improve maternal health outcomes.
Panti advocated culturally sensitive educational programs chosen carefully and presented in local languages to address myths about pregnancy and make information about pregnancy timelines, prenatal care and common complications accessible and reliable.
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