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Claim: Comedian Bovi asserts that being a virgin for too long hurts fertility.
Verdict: Misleading. Studies and expert opinions note that there is no correlation between infertility and virginity.
Full Text
Bovi Ugboma is a Nigerian stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He was invited to speak in an episode of ‘The Honest Bunch,’ podcast, where he asserted that being a virgin for too long hurts fertility.
During the interview, comedian Bovi expressed his displeasure with societal norms, stating that society places too much emphasis on teaching shame. He criticised the common preaching that women should remain virgins until marriage. “It would affect their chances of pregnancy later when you don’t do what your body is supposed to do,” he said
@makersp_ on Instagram, disagreeing with the post and responded, “Don’t mislead people with this. Infertility is not caused by lack of sex.”
Another user, @michealbs, agreed with the post and replied, “Na true him talk Abeg, people should listen and learn.”
The controversial and viral nature of the post made DUBAWA investigate this claim.
Verification
According to Medical News Today, infertility is when a person cannot conceive due to a problem with the reproductive system of either partner. Infertility is defined as the inability to get pregnant after 12 months of trying. Any person of either sex who fits this definition is experiencing infertility.
According to the report, causes of infertility include endometriosis, smoking, obesity, pharmaceutical drugs, damage to the fallopian tubes, radiation therapy, fibroids, alcohol, sexually transmitted diseases, and infections, amongst others. Virginity itself does not appear to be a direct factor in these conditions.
The belief that remaining a virgin might directly cause infertility is largely unfounded. Some women who marry as virgins may face difficulties conceiving, but this is not inherently linked to their sexual history.
The question of whether being a virgin for an extended period negatively affects fertility is complex and not definitively answered by current scientific research.
Another study suggests that prolonged abstinence from sexual activity may lead to psychological effects, including anxiety or reduced confidence regarding sexual performance. While these factors could indirectly influence fertility by affecting a couple’s sexual activity frequency, they do not establish a direct causal relationship between virginity and infertility.
We spoke to David Tomigba, a women’s health physiotherapist, who mentioned that being a virgin has no effect on fertility. He stated that infertility has many causes, including the use of oral contraceptives and underlying conditions such as anovulation, amongst others.
“Except if the woman has gotten to the menopausal stage, there is no relationship between virginity and infertility,” he noted.
DUBAWA also contacted Ayanbola Abimbola, a medical doctor with Afe Babalola Teaching Hospital, who explained that it is a misconception and that she has not yet seen any studies that link it together. She noted that sexual histories do not mean infertility.
“I have seen clients that married as virgins and have issues with childbirth and also the ones that did not marry as virgins and have the same issues. Sexual histories do not mean anything. There might be some underlying conditions like Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), hormonal imbalance and so on.” she also explained that people with multiple sexual partners might even be at a higher chance of infertility because of conditions like Sexually transmitted diseases (STD).”
Conclusion
There is no correlation between infertility and virginity. Experts assert that infertility has many causes, and no studies show yet that being a virgin for a long time causes infertility.
