An undercover investigation by BBC Africa Eye has exposed a fertility scam in Anambra State, where women desperate to conceive are deceived into believing they are pregnant through fraudulent treatments.
The investigation revealed a network of illegal clinics that exploit societal pressures on women to bear children, charging exorbitant fees for fake “miracle fertility treatments” while engaging in baby trafficking.
One victim, Juliet, who endured societal stigma for 11 years of infertility, explained her desperation, saying, “Every woman wants to be a mother. Society treats women without children as if they’ve committed a crime. I even told my husband to remarry so he could become a father.
“When you are desperate, as a woman, that is the worst situation you can find yourself in; your judgment becomes clouded. So even if they had conviction in their hearts that this thing is not true, they will still go for it because they want to be mothers.” After Juliet’s husband’s initial hesitation, she managed to convince him to begin the process. But as the treatment started, doubts began to creep in. “My stomach did not grow more than me being fat, directly against the instructions of the scammers.
“I was still seeing my period, and I was not seeing vital information. Lab, negative; ultrasound, negative; nothing. I was hoping that by nine months I would be okay, but then they told me that I would carry the baby for at least one year and five months. I did not understand; my brain was not comprehending it.”
What Juliet did not know was that the doctor was a scammer who leveraged “cryptic pregnancy”—a rare medical condition where individuals are unaware of their pregnancies until later stages—to manipulate victims like herself.
One victim, Chioma, claimed to have carried a child for 15 months. Some women reported being sedated and waking up with surgical scars, leading them to believe they had undergone Caesarean sections.
“They told me the baby wasn’t in my womb but near my back, which is why no scan could detect it. I didn’t know what to believe,” said one woman deceived by the scam.
The BBC Africa Eye narrator explained, “Cryptic pregnancy, in medical terms, refers to a rare condition. But here, it’s being used as a scam—a miracle fertility treatment sold for profit.”
“A woman is convinced that if she visits a cryptic nurse or a doctor, she’s going to get an injection, a tablet, or a solution that she will drink, and after she goes home, she sleeps with her husband. She’s going to get pregnant, but that pregnancy is not going to show up in tests. It is not going to show up in scans,” the BBC reporter said.
“Victims are led to believe that scans won’t detect the baby because it isn’t actually in the womb, but rather towards their back. Once they are told they are pregnant, they go for regular checkups where they’re given drugs, which sometimes lead to changes in their bodies. You see somebody with a protruding stomach, swollen legs, and everything. When the time for delivery comes, women are told they can only be induced by the scammers themselves. Your doctor will call you and say, ‘Come and give birth today.’ We’ve heard numerous reports of how women do actually believe they’ve given birth,” the BBC Africa Eye Documentaries narrator continued.
The investigation focused on a woman called Dr. Ruth, who operates a clinic in a dilapidated hotel in Ihiala, Anambra State. For a fee of ₦350,000, she promises women they will conceive, despite no legitimate medical evidence.
Undercover BBC investigators posing as a couple struggling to conceive revealed how Dr. Ruth offers injections and crushed substances, claiming they would lead to pregnancy.
“Dr. Ruth reassures Ebere and Chiagozie that this is a tried and tested method. This initial treatment normally costs just over 200 US dollars. Ebere is told she can choose the sex of her child, but only if she accepts an injection, not knowing what’s in it. Ebere and Chiagozie refuse the offer.
“Dr. Ruth hands her a sachet of a crushed, unlabelled substance instead, and she instructs Ebere and Chiagozie on when they should be having intercourse and how to take the drugs. Ebere and Chiagozie are expected to return in four weeks to see if she might be pregnant.”
During their follow-up, Dr. Ruth told Ebere and Chiagozie that she was pregnant, despite Ebere not taking the drugs, and said she would only deliver after paying ₦1.5 million to ₦1.8 million for a special delivery drug.
“It is Ebere’s follow-up with Dr. Ruth. Ebere has not taken any of the drugs Dr. Ruth gave her—the drugs that reportedly would have ensured she got pregnant. Ebere greets one of Dr. Ruth’s clients. Inside, the woman starts complaining she’s been pregnant for over nine months and has yet to deliver the baby.”
“During our investigation, we’ve heard this many times—women going through cryptic pregnancy treatment, having to wait way beyond a normal gestation period before being ready to give birth. When Ebere steps into the room, Dr. Ruth brings out a device that looks like an ultrasound scanner, places it on Ebere’s stomach, and moments later, a tiny sound is heard.
“It’s heartbreaking to know that for the women who visit Dr. Ruth, this moment of elation—hearing the news that you’re pregnant—is all an illusion. Dr. Ruth explains the next steps.”
For those unable to pay, the “pregnancy” is prolonged indefinitely. Meanwhile, babies are bought and sold to complete the illusion of childbirth.
“Ebere will not deliver until a drug is administered, and getting this drug is not going to be easy. ₦1.5 to ₦1.8 million is required to get the drug. That’s around 1,000 US dollars per child. But what happens after nine months if the money isn’t ready?
“Yes, Ebere would continue to be pregnant, but the fetus would weaken, and it would take time to ensure it’s healthy again. And while this goes on, somewhere, there’s a baby being bought and sold.”
The emotional toll on victims is immense. Another victim, unaware she had been scammed, told the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs, “This pregnancy is miraculous. I carried it myself. No one helped me.”
Even after a DNA test revealed no biological connection between her and the child she received, she was reassured by the scammers: “The doctor said it would take time for the DNA to become positive.”
