“A mixture of bananas, uncooked eggs, liquid milk and a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda, can make a woman conceive,” claims a Facebook post shared in Nigeria in November 2019.
It advises women “trying to conceive” to “blend two pieces of banana, one tin of liquid milk, two uncooked egg and one teaspoon of bicarbonate soda” and to drink this mixture “immediately after your menstruation cycle… on an empty stomach early in the morning”.
The post gives the contact details for a “Chief Dr Ifadola” for “already prepared treatments for all kinds of illness”.
Africa Check looked into his advice on getting pregnant.
We contacted Ifadola to ask about the effectiveness of his mixture.
“I am a herbal doctor and what I do is mix herbs and give to people, this is just my findings and it has worked for people. Immediately after you drink it, the lady is to copulate with her spouse during ovulation and she will conceive,” Ifadola said.
Ovulation is the release of an egg from a woman’s ovary into her fallopian tube. Pregnancy is most likely to happen during ovulation.
A herbal doctor, or herbalist, is trained to use plants and other natural substances to treat people. According to the World Health Organization, “herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations and finished herbal products that contain as active ingredients parts of plants, or other plant materials, or combinations”.
Ifadola said his “medicine” was not scientifically proven or medically approved.
We also spoke to fertility expert Michael Aziken, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Benin’s College of Medicine in Benin City, southern Nigeria.
“This mixture has nothing to do with fertility,” he said.
“If a person wants to conceive and is finding it hard to do so, the person should see a gynaecologist and an appropriate test will be run to know if there is something wrong with her system and proper treatment would be administered to the person.” – Jennifer Ojugbeli
It advises women “trying to conceive” to “blend two pieces of banana, one tin of liquid milk, two uncooked egg and one teaspoon of bicarbonate soda” and to drink this mixture “immediately after your menstruation cycle… on an empty stomach early in the morning”.
The post gives the contact details for a “Chief Dr Ifadola” for “already prepared treatments for all kinds of illness”.
Africa Check looked into his advice on getting pregnant.
Mixture not medically approved
We contacted Ifadola to ask about the effectiveness of his mixture.
“I am a herbal doctor and what I do is mix herbs and give to people, this is just my findings and it has worked for people. Immediately after you drink it, the lady is to copulate with her spouse during ovulation and she will conceive,” Ifadola said.
Ovulation is the release of an egg from a woman’s ovary into her fallopian tube. Pregnancy is most likely to happen during ovulation.
A herbal doctor, or herbalist, is trained to use plants and other natural substances to treat people. According to the World Health Organization, “herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations and finished herbal products that contain as active ingredients parts of plants, or other plant materials, or combinations”.
Ifadola said his “medicine” was not scientifically proven or medically approved.
See a gynaecologist instead
We also spoke to fertility expert Michael Aziken, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Benin’s College of Medicine in Benin City, southern Nigeria.
“This mixture has nothing to do with fertility,” he said.
“If a person wants to conceive and is finding it hard to do so, the person should see a gynaecologist and an appropriate test will be run to know if there is something wrong with her system and proper treatment would be administered to the person.” – Jennifer Ojugbeli
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