A consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, Abosede Lewu, has said cryptic pregnancy is a real medical condition but is often misunderstood and exploited by fraudsters.

Ms Lewu, who is also the chief medical director of ORB Women’s Clinic, Lagos, said on Thursday that cryptic pregnancy referred to a real pregnancy.

She explained that in such cases, a woman would be unaware of her condition until about five months into the pregnancy or beyond and in some cases, women only discovered they were pregnant when they went into labour.

“Cryptic pregnancy is a real pregnancy. The major difference between it and every other pregnancy is awareness. The woman is pregnant but does not know,” Ms Lewu said.

According to her, cryptic pregnancy is more likely to occur in women with menstrual irregularities or those who have gone for long periods without seeing their menstruation.

She explained that women approaching menopause could also experience cryptic pregnancy, as their menstrual cycles may already be irregular, occurring once in three or six months.

“So, when they become pregnant, they may assume the symptoms they are having are just part of the changes associated with nearing menopause,” she said.

Ms Lewu added that breastfeeding women were also at risk, noting that many new mothers do not resume menstruation until they stop breastfeeding effectively.

“As a result, such women can actually be pregnant without knowing, because they believe their period has yet to return,” she said.

The gynaecologist warned that cryptic pregnancy had its own dangers because it was usually unplanned, with the woman not preparing  for it medically or emotionally.

She also cautioned that some unscrupulous individuals exploited the concept of cryptic pregnancy to scam desperate women trying to conceive.

“Some scammers take advantage of women by claiming to see a pregnancy and continue to pump them with medications to stop their periods.

“When such women visit diagnostic centres for scans, there is usually no evidence of pregnancy, unlike in genuine cryptic pregnancy, where a real pregnancy exists,” she said.

She advised women to be cautious, stressing that if only one person claimed to see a pregnancy, while no independent medical test confirmed it, then it was likely a scam.

“As a woman, if you are working with someone who claims to be helping you get pregnant and only that person can see the pregnancy, then you are being scammed,” she said.

Ms Lewu warned that one of the dangers of receiving care from such scammers was the use of unregulated hormones, which could expose women to severe, life-threatening medical conditions, either immediately or later in life.

She further stressed that there was no secrecy in genuine cryptic pregnancy and that nobody induces cryptic pregnancy in a woman.

“One way these scammers remain relevant is by forcing women into secrecy.

“The whole experience of the so-called pregnancy and baby delivery is shrouded in secrecy, and the women are discouraged from sharing their experiences,” she said.

Ms Lewu noted that the journey to having children varied from woman to woman and from family to family.

She advised women experiencing delays in achieving pregnancy not to allow desperation to push them into the hands of unqualified persons.

“For women and families facing fertility challenges, it is important to see a qualified gynaecologist for proper evaluation and to explore safe, acceptable and medically sound options to achieve pregnancy,” she said.

(NAN)