In a disturbing trend that has swept through certain social circles, some women are resorting to a shocking method to achieve the coveted “perfect” body. Pregnancy, once a sacred journey toward motherhood, is being manipulated for vanity—used to gain weight in all the “right” places before being terminated after five months. This exposé by GODFREY GEORGE uncovers the chilling lengths to which some go for the sake of appearance, delving into the pressures of beauty, societal obsession with body image, and the haunting consequences of this dark, open secret
Silence. Longer silence, followed by shock. Dr Sina Ajidahun, a physician, looked utterly thunderstruck.
“You mean young ladies would get pregnant and abort the pregnancy just so they can put on weight? This is madness!” he blurted out in dismay.
Promising our correspondent that he would conduct his own findings, Saturday PUNCH embarked on a deeper investigation to uncover the truth behind this shocking claim.
After hours of scouring microblogging sites, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, several leads began to surface.
These led our correspondent to a quiet town in Delta State, Ukwuani, where many respondents confirmed that the trend was indeed rampant.
“This is no news at all. As far back as 2009, when I was in SS2, I heard of this method for gaining weight. We even had a clique in every class set, which would help you with all sorts of tricks on your weight gain journey,” shared a slightly slender woman who gave her name only as Ada.
“Please, don’t capture me in your camera,” she begged, guiding our correspondent, who had traveled down to her hometown on this knowledge-seeking mission. “People know me here. If word gets out, I may be in trouble,” she added, nervously waving at an older woman frying garri nearby.
The sun hung low in the hazy sky, casting a warm golden hue over the town’s sparse streets, each corner craving a touch of industrialisation.
Before long, Ego, another local, led our correspondent to the home of a man named Chiedu, her cousin, who would help further this fact-finding mission.
Without any prompting, Chiedu immediately began, “This news na old news now. Even boyfriends get their babes pregnant so that their breasts will develop, and then they’ll remove it (pregnancy). I’ll take you to a woman who will tell you everything.”
After several minutes of waiting for transportation, Chiedu offered to drive our correspondent on a ‘ladies’ bike’ to the nearby settlement of Obiaruku, where they were to meet the woman he referred to as Iron Lady.
“She’ll explain this thing to you well. She’s a retired nurse,” he added, as the bike sputtered along the dusty roads.
When they arrived, Iron Lady looked frail, her skin pale. She sat as though she had used the last of her strength just to remain upright.
“Our girls have been doing it. It is not new, but the truth is that many have gone down that path. I am a retired nurse from the Delta State Ministry of Health. I served here in Obiaruku for years before I was transferred.
“I first heard of this around 2006 —that girls would intentionally get pregnant if they were ‘too slim,’ and when they noticed they had started adding weight, they would terminate the pregnancy.
“Abortion comes with its own complications, but one of the ‘side effects’ of abortion is that it can sometimes cause women to gain weight. However, I must stress that this doesn’t work for everyone, and it’s mostly unsafe in Nigeria because, to some extent, it’s illegal,” she added, her voice trailing off.
The sun had begun to set, and the crickets emerged, chirping the night’s song. Chiedu suggested we set out for another location, where Ego had mentioned a woman who lost her child to this dangerous practice was willing to speak.
It was nearing 8pm, and the streets were growing emptier and quieter, except for a few children playing with fire and the faint sound of a church service echoing from afar.
We soon arrived at the house, but the woman (whose name is withheld) seemed unaware of our visit.
“She (Ego) told you people to come here and ask me questions about Prisca, who died over six years ago?” she asked in an Igbo dialect, which only Chiedu could understand. After much pleading, the woman, who said she was trying to move on, asked us to return the next day after she had spoken to her husband.
Later, our correspondent learned from Ego that the woman was a single mother who had lost her husband years ago. It was clear that she didn’t want to revisit the tragedy of Prisca.
Still, Ego explained that Prisca had gone through the weight-gain process, getting pregnant by a youth corper named Israel, who, according to Ego, had told Prisca she was too slim to be his girlfriend.
“The boy confessed in front of the entire community back then. It’s common knowledge. I don’t know why Mama Prisca refused to talk.
“Prisca was around 19 or 20 years old when it happened. She bled to death because the abortion was carried out by quacks,” Ego shared, her voice heavy with sorrow.
A medical doctor practising in Asaba, who requested anonymity, confirmed that the practice was widespread in the area.
“From Warri to Sapele, Benin to Port Harcourt, and other parts of the South-South zone where my job has taken me, we’ve heard such stories in whispers. We’ve treated several complications after multiple abortions.
“There’s an obsession with the new body that these ladies achieve, so they’re willing to endure the painful process repeatedly to maintain it,” the internal medicine physician told Saturday PUNCH.
