Alu
I was going through WhatsApp statuses when I saw these on a friend’s page. The first post said that soaking zobo leaves could be used as a “tried and tested” method of natural family planning. The second one suggested neem leaves and neem oil as a method. Without a scientific explanation or any form of medical backing, this WhatsApp user, with countless women following her, just confidently proffered a “solution” to a problem many women are facing.
She is but one of the countless “solution bringers” on social media, confidently recommending different herbs and portions for contraception and termination of pregnancies. Unfortunately, without enough correct research and information readily available about contraception and safe termination of pregnancies, we have countless women and girls falling for these unverified posts, getting unintended, unplanned, and unwanted pregnancies, and dying while trying to save themselves.
Research has consistently shown that misinformation in sexual and reproductive health is widespread online, often promoting “alternative” remedies that do not align with medical guidelines. In one review of online reproductive health content, nearly a quarter of claims included recommendations that directly contradicted established medical evidence, while others exaggerated risks of safe methods or promoted unsafe alternatives.
To really understand the impact of this issue, we must ask ourselves who is receiving these myths. Many of the people most likely to rely on these kinds of messages are not just scrolling for fun. They are often young women trying to solve a problem quietly, girls who cannot ask questions openly, or women who are afraid of being judged if they walk into a clinic. Basically, these are people who feel like they have to figure things out on their own. The systemic failure that has allowed everyday people to depend on these titbits of information is also a catalyst for the number of deaths from unsafe termination of pregnancies that Nigeria is currently recording.
Studies have shown that misinformation in the sexual reproductive health space does not just confuse people; it actively undermines evidence-based decision-making and weakens trust in health systems. When people begin to believe that safe, medically approved options are risky, and unsafe alternatives are harmless, the entire decision-making process becomes distorted.
In Nigeria, this is not new. Myths around contraception and reproductive health have existed long before social media. Beliefs like “family planning causes infertility”, “contraception promotes promiscuity”, or “abortion removes the womb of a woman” have been shown to significantly reduce the use of effective methods.
Misinformation has been shown to reinforce stigma by portraying abortion as dangerous, immoral, or shameful, even when those claims are not supported by medical evidence. Over time, these repeated messages create an environment where people are not just misinformed but also afraid to ask questions, seek the right help, or even be seen with the right help.
So misinformation and myths go beyond just sharing and forwarding as it stands. When we talk about misinformation, we are not just talking about wrong information. We are talking about a chain reaction. A young woman believes a myth. She avoids a reliable method. She experiences an unintended pregnancy. She delays seeking help because of stigma. She turns to unsafe options, and then, a simple message becomes a health risk.
Even more concerning is how, even when people try to look it up, they may still encounter the same misinformation, just in a different form. If accurate, clear, and non-judgmental information is not easily accessible, people will fall back on what they can find. And right now, what they can find is not always correct. Where then do we go from here?
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- Gueye, A., Speizer, I. S., Corroon, M., & Okigbo, C. C. (2015). Belief in family planning myths at the individual and community levels and modern contraceptive use in urban Africa. BMC Public Health, 15, 941. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4858446/
- Purnat, T. D., et al. (2025). Impacts of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Misinformation in Digital Spaces: A Global Analysis. JMIR Infodemiology, 5, e83747.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2023). Identifying and Combating Abortion Myths and Misinformation. Available at: https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/identifying-combating-abortion-myths-misinformation
