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Claim: A Facebook user recently alleged in a post that tender guava leaves are a remedy for miscarriages and spotting in pregnancy.
Verdict: False! Consuming guava leaves soaked in water can never be a remedy for miscarriages and spotting during pregnancy. Instead, miscarriages and spotting may be due to infection, trauma or implantation bleeding.
Full Text
Bleeding in pregnancy can be scary and worrying especially if it is accompanied by other symptoms that are linked to pregnancy loss. Signs that a woman is miscarrying can include heavy bleeding, cramping, pain in the lower abdomen, and discharge of fluid or tissue. Healthline describes spotting in pregnancy as light pink, red, or dark brown blood, visible clots, and usually lighter than a woman’s menstruation.
A Facebook user recently shared a post alleging that consuming tender guava leaves soaked in water will help prevent miscarriages and spotting during pregnancy. As of March 31, 2024, the post had 22 likes and three shares.
Bearing in mind the consequences of adhering to this remedy as a solution to miscarriages by pregnant women, DUBAWA sought to verify the claim.
Verification
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates about 15 to 20 per cent of pregnant women experience bleeding in the first trimester. In 2010, a study of 4,539 pregnant women showed that about one in four women experienced bleeding during the first trimester. The study found that spotting was most commonly seen in the sixth and seventh weeks of pregnancy. Spotting is not also a sign of miscarriage or that something is wrong. Spotting during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy may be attributed to implantation bleeding, ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage.
Most miscarriages occur in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, and the symptoms of a miscarriage, include the following: mild to severe back pain, weight loss, white-pink mucus, cramping or contractions, tissue with clot-like material passing from the vagina, a sudden decrease in pregnancy symptoms. Once a miscarriage has started, there is very little that can be done to save the pregnancy.
Experts opinions
Dr Johnson Udodi, a senior registrar at National Hospital Abuja, tells DUBAWA that,
“Spotting during pregnancy, which could also be described as threatened abortion, is a serious situation. Obstetricians consider it as requiring urgent attention. It could be due to various reasons, each of which may require a different form of intervention. Failure to address the problems may result in complete or incomplete abortion.”
Mr Udodi further states that,
“The claim that guava leaves can stop spotting is dangerous due to the risk to both the foetus and the mother. Obstetricians often advise women experiencing spotting to observe strict bed rest and immediately seek medical attention. The claim in the post is false.”
Dr Nafisa Yusuf, a registrar in the obstetrics and gynaecology department at National Hospital Abuja, also confirmed that,
“Concerning spotting in pregnancy, it could be due to several causes such as an infection, trauma to the vaginal wall or cervix during intercourse and implantation bleeding etc. Most times, when the cause is identified, we treat it accordingly. For women with threatened miscarriage, they can be placed on cyclogest (progesterone).”
Conclusion
The claim that guava leaves serve as a remedy for miscarriages and spotting in pregnancy is false and dangerous due to the risk it can pose to both the foetus and the mother.
*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.
