Claim: A Facebook page shared a video with several claims on home remedies that can help with an unwanted pregnancy.
MOSTLY FALSE! Three of the Facebook claims are false, while two are misleading claims.
Full Text
Reproduction is a crucial part of the perennial existence of humans on earth. It is a process that allows women to get pregnant and give birth to a child for the continual inhabitation of the earth.
Some get pregnant deliberately to have a child while others get pregnant unintentionally.
Unwanted pregnancy, also known as unintended pregnancy, is described by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention as a pregnancy that occurred when no more children were desired or mistimed when it occurred earlier than desired.
United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency revealed that nearly half of all pregnancies, totalling 121 million each year throughout the world, are unintended.
Millions of people all over the world resort yearly to abortion of unintended pregnancies.
Recently, a Facebook page, Akash Kumar, shared a video listing some home remedies for unwanted pregnancy. This video attracted over 150 comments, 200,000 views, and more than 200 shares.
A Facebook user, Sunita Padayachee commented, “Recipes to murder an innocent life🤮🤮🤮”
Another user, Blanche Michael, also disagreed with the supposed remedies and commented, “this is dangerous. People can die. Proper medical procedures should be conducted.”
Meanwhile, Nahdalah Bayuga, appreciated the post. ‘Thanks very much for sharing,” she commented.
Due to the safety concerns of these remedies, DUBAWA chose to fact-check this claim.
Verification
We found five claims from this list and addressed them individually.
Claim 1: Pineapple Juice can help with an unwanted pregnancy
Our findings show that the Bromelain found in pineapple isn’t likely to affect your pregnancy. A gynaecologist also confirmed that pregnant women have reported no uterine activity while some said it causes contraction.
According to Health Line, a leading health blog, Pineapple is a safe, healthy choice during pregnancy. The blog post explains that the claim that the consumption of pineapple can lead to early miscarriage is a myth and it has no scientific evidence.
As noted in the video shared by Akash, the presence of bromelain in pineapple supposedly helps to get rid of unintended pregnancy.
However, Health Line explains that Bromelain, as a tablet, is not advised to be consumed by pregnant women because it can break down proteins in the body and lead to abnormal bleeding.
Most importantly, it must be noted that the Bromelain found in the core of the pineapple is very little and the amount of Bromelain in a single serving of pineapple isn’t likely to affect a woman’s pregnancy.
Dr Jeremiah Agim, a gynaecologist and senior registrar at the National Hospital Abuja, who spoke to DUBAWA, said there are research articles that implicate pineapple as a cause of increased uterine activity in pregnancy consequently expected to cause abortion.
He, however, noted that pregnant women have taken pineapple throughout their pregnancy and reported no uterine activity while some said it causes contraction.
Claim 2: Sesame seeds with honey as an abortion remedy.
Our findings show that sesame seeds and honey do not help with pregnancy abortion. There is no scientific evidence that combination of the two items helps with pregnancy abortion.
A 2015 research explains that sesame seeds which are rich in omega-3, omega-6 and DHA are important for the nourishment of pregnant and lactating women at greater risk of energy malnutrition.
This research, therefore, concluded that sesame seeds possess pharmaceutical, nutraceuticals and therapeutic properties, which contribute to safe pregnancy and boost postnatal growth.
Dr Agim made it known that sesame seed is a common seed used for making soup in his village. “I have not heard of abortion cases from eating the soup,” he said.
Very Well Family quotes Sandy Procter, PhD, a nutrition expert at Kansas State University, as saying, “Children over the age of 1 and healthy adults—including pregnant women—can ingest honey safely since their immune systems protect against whatever bacteria the honey may contain.”
Claim 3: Parsley water with lemon
Health Line shares that parsley tea has its health benefits, but it increases the chances of miscarriage when consumed in high doses.
The organisation notes that while no data cOur findings show that although parsley may increase the chances of miscarriage, Lemon, on the other hand, does not affect pregnancy. There is insufficient evidence that the combination of parsley water with lemon can be used to abort a pregnancy.onfirms that parsley is toxic during pregnancy, some evidence suggests it may increase your risk of miscarriage.
Science Alert meanwhile reported that an Argentinian woman died from trying to induce a miscarriage by inserting parsley into her vagina shortly after the nation’s Senate rejected a monumental abortion bill.
WebMD also notes that pregnant women can use parsley in food amounts. However, parsley in larger medicinal amounts may be unsafe to consume during pregnancy as Parsley has been used to cause an abortion and to start menstrual flow.
On lemons, Health Line mentions that lemons pack many essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that help support maternal health and baby development.
“I have seen an article which said parsley extract cause abortion, liver, kidney and heart failure,” Dr Agim revealed.
Claim 4: Aspirin tablets for abortion.
Our findings reveal that the consumption of aspirin does not get rid of the pregnancy. Experts also revealed that the medication is used to prevent preeclampsia in pregnancy.
In a study carried out by PubMed, it was found that the use of aspirin during pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.
Dr Agim questioned why anyone would want to take aspirins to get rid of pregnancy seeing it is a drug used by pregnant women with preeclampsia.
“Aspirin is used in pregnancy in women with a previous history of preeclampsia to prevent reoccurrence,” he explained.
WebMD says preeclampsia can lead to eclampsia, a serious condition that is risky for mother and child and, in rare cases, causes death.
“It is not clear if this causes miscarriage,” Dr Sunday Idoko at Garki hospital Abuja simply said.
He noted that Aspirin belongs to a class of drugs called NSAIDs. “Some articles do say NSAIDs cause miscarriage but Aspirin is currently used to prevent preeclampsia in pregnancy,” he clarified.
Claim 5: High dose of vitamin C for abortion
Our findings and expert opinions show that high vitamin C consumption does not affect pregnancy and can be consumed during pregnancy. A gynaecologist also revealed that vitamin C is a part of antenatal medication.
A high dose or consumption of vitamin C to get rid of unwanted pregnancy does not work, according to Health Line.
This article notes there is no credible scientific information suggesting that vitamin C has any effect on pregnancy, implantation, or menstruation.
Compass Care, an organization offering free abortion permission in New York, notes that a pregnant woman can safely consume up to 2000mg of vitamin C per day.
Dr Agim noted “Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, that means it’s not stored in the body. The excess will be excreted in the urine. When we say high dose of vitamin C, this is about 500 mg or 1000mg.”
The gynaecologist revealed that doctors give vitamin C as part of the routine antenatal medication but not at the dose of 500 mg or 1000 mg.
“Even if it can cause abortion, I have not come across a research paper with such claim,” he said.
Dr Idoko also simply said that vitamin C does not work like that. “It is safe in all trimesters and helps in folic acid absorption,” he noted.
Experts’ General Opinion
Dr Idoko explained that, from his knowledge and experience, the methods listed above are not taught in schools as methods of terminating pregnancies. He posited that “medications that are used for pregnancy termination are those with evidence.”
Mifepristone, misoprostol, and mifepristone+misoprostol top the list of such evidence-based methods, according to Dr Idoko.
“People may try to make a case for unorthodox methods. These are not evidence-based and as such not accepted by everyone. Some of the events are unrelated or happened coincidentally,” Dr Idoko noted.
Dr Agim mentioned that abortion is not allowed in Nigeria except when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. He, however, noted that Nigeria ratified the Maputo protocol in 2004.
This protocol urges the ratifying states to allow abortion in certain circumstances that include cases of rape, incest and life-threatening pregnancy.
“Women with unwanted pregnancies arising from the aforementioned situations should go to the hospital if they want abortion to avoid the complications of unsafe abortion,” he advised.
Dr Ruth Lathi, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Stanford University School of Medicine, said while speaking to AP News that “there’s no home remedy to induce an abortion or to cause an abortion to happen.”
Conclusion
Our findings show that two of the Facebook claims are false, while three are misleading.
