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Facebook user’s claim about consuming concoctions to birth twin boys, false!

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Claim: A Facebook page shared a video that consuming a homemade concoction would lead to the conception of twin boys, especially for expectant mothers. 

Facebook user’s claim about consuming concoctions to birth twin boys, false!

Verdict: False! Studies and experts note that consuming a homemade concoction of beetroot, garlic, cinnamon sticks, turmeric, ginger, and turmeric can not help an expectant mother conceive. 

Full Text 

Conception usually takes place when sperm fertilises an egg found in the fallopian tubes, creating a zygote that then becomes an embryo. Conception requires a few steps to occur. 

Primarily, a woman is born with the number of eggs she will have throughout her lifetime. As she gets older, the quality of her eggs diminishes, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and GynaecologistsTrusted Source.

A woman must release an egg healthy enough for fertilisation, and then a high-quality sperm is also required to reach and fertilise the egg. While only one sperm is needed, the sperm must travel past the cervix and uterus into the fallopian tubes to fertilise the egg. 

A Facebook user, Everyday with Irene, shared a video alleging that consuming beetroot, ginger, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon sticks, and carrot soaked for a day in a bottle filled with two glass cups of water would help women trying to conceive. She called them TTC (trying to conceive women). She claimed that the concoction can be refrigerated if so desired and consumed for three days before the woman’s period starts. 

The video posted on February 2, 2024, gained 1.2k likes, 132 comments and 36k views. She asked that the concoction be stopped on the second day after the woman’s period started.  A user follower, Osaruluka Jima, commented, “So educative.”

Another follower and top fan, Adefunke Pinioluwa, commented, “Very educational. TTC ladies, come and see this o. May it end in praise.” 

Considering the virality of the post and its implications on public health, DUBAWA sought to verify it.

Verification

If a man’s sperm is not motile enough and cannot travel far, conception will not occur. A woman’s cervix must also be receptive enough for the sperm to survive. Some conditions cause the sperm to die before they can swim to the fallopian tubes.

Some women may benefit from assisted reproductive technologies like intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilisation if issues are preventing healthy sperm from meeting a healthy egg naturally. 

Where conception occurs

According to Healthline, sperm usually fertilise the egg in the fallopian tube, which is a pathway from the ovary to a woman’s uterus. The University of California San Francisco explains that an egg takes about 30 hours to travel from the ovary down the fallopian tube.

As the egg travels down the fallopian tube, it lodges in a specific portion called the ampullary-isthmic junction. There, sperm usually fertilise the egg. If the egg is fertilised, it will travel quickly into the uterus and be implanted. 

Some women have medical conditions that prevent them from ovulating altogether. Despite ovulation and fertilisation, a pregnancy may still fail to occur. 

In some cases, the egg or sperm may be abnormal; in others, the embryo may be abnormal. 

Experts speak 

Dr Nafisa Yusuf, a registrar in the obstetrics and gynaecology department at National Hospital Abuja, states that, 

“Beetroot, ginger, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon sticks cannot help women conceive, and no study backs it up.”

Ms Yusuf continues by saying that the chromosome determines a baby’s biological sex, and the male parent contributes. Males have XY sex chromosomes, while females have XX sex chromosomes; males can contribute the X or Y chromosome, while females must contribute one of their X chromosomes.

Ms Yusuf concludes by stating that there are no meals that help with conception; however, prenatal vitamins such as folic acid can used to prevent congenital anomalies.

Similarly, Dr Johnson Udodi, a senior registrar at National Hospital Abuja, concurs with Ms Yusuf, saying that the combination of beetroot, ginger, turmeric garlic, cinnamon and cloves, all soaked in water, can improve fertility is false. He emphasised that there is no evidence that the combination quoted affects fertility. 

Mr Udodi further asserts that no study was cited, and no attempt was made to offer evidence that supports the claim. The narrator mentioned that one of the ingredients would help to thicken the womb. It is unclear what role she thinks “thickening of the womb” plays in improving fertility. It is noteworthy that the narrator also said her claimed remedy is for women who have no problems. Therefore, the claim, as presented, is false.

Conclusion 

Studies and experts reveal that consuming a mixture of beetroot, ginger, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, and cloves soaked in water cannot improve fertility. Therefore, the claim, as presented, is false.

*The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame Karikari Fellowship, in partnership with Premium Times / UNILAG, to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country. 

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