General News of Friday, 24 September 2021
Source: gbcghanaonline.com
2021-09-24
Josephine Panyin Mensah is the woman at th center of the pregnancy and kidnap episode
A clinical psychologist, Dr Derrick Oppong, has raised red flags in the events and accounts in the case of the alleged pregnant woman who was reported kidnapped but has reappeared without her pregnancy.
Dr. Oppong described as strange the situation where the victim is unable to speak yet is able to do sign language. He is of the view that the victim could have experienced ‘’false pregnancy’’, known in clinical terms as pseudocyesis.
He told Nathaniel Nartey that such conditions comes about if there is pressure on an individual to have children.
“What I do find interesting and curious is that if she is not able to speak yet she is able to do sign language then it suggests that she is very much in touch and aware of her surroundings and for me that triggers some alarm bells, typically people in such situations will not be communicating at all with the external.
“It is not totally unheard-of for women to develop what we call false pregnancy. A situation where a woman might begin to manifest signs of pregnancy when she is not actually pregnant. This happens when a woman is under a lot of pressure to give birth,’’ the doctor explained.
Dr. Oppong advised the authorities to conduct extensive medical examinations to clear some of the doubts because from all indications the victim was not pregnant.
‘’What needs to happen now is more medical investigation and psychological evaluation. I think it is too early to say that she was in a hurry to collect ransom,” according to Dr. Oppong.