Janet Ogundepo Seasoned maternal heath experts have debunked claims and myths that a woman could be pregnant for three years or more. The consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists asserted that an average pregnancy in humans could only last for 42 weeks or 10 months, stating that pregnancy lasting beyond this period was abnormal and has no place in medicine. They noted that after 42 weeks of gestation, the placenta, which is an organ that provides oxygen and nutrients to a developing baby in the uterus, would decline, leading to the death of the foetus.
The experts’ comment is in response to the recent eight-year pregnancy claim by a middle-aged woman, Janet Dada. Dada claimed that she suffered a miscarriage in 2016 and after that got pregnant, stating that since then, she had yet to deliver the baby. Although she clarified that several ultrasound scans showed she was not carrying a baby, spiritualists whom she visited assured her she was pregnant.
In October, former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, said his late mother carried him in her womb for three-and-half years. He described his birth as a miracle, noting that the prolonged pregnancy created a wave of unbelief as to whether he was a human being. In July, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said that his mother carried his pregnancy for 12 months before his birth.
He ascribed the delay to the influence of some witches and wizards who gave his mother a tough time before God’s intervention. However, in exclusive.